


The Present is a Point Just Passed

by mortenavida



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate History, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Apocalypse, F/F, F/M, Implied Torture, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Revolution, Time Travel, War, hidden society, witch burnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-12
Updated: 2012-10-20
Packaged: 2017-11-16 03:51:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortenavida/pseuds/mortenavida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>There wasn't a day that passed where she wished things could change, where she could find out how this happened set things right. Luna remembered the Department of Mysteries, but something told her that this started before that. Perhaps even before time and magic and people came to be.</i>
</p><p>A time-travel fic where Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Ron are thrown into different parts of time and must find each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1) I fail so hard at history, so any inconsistencies are unintentional, though I did move some things around on purpose. I did try, but I'm sure that a history buff could see through my attempts on Muggle history (despite the fact that I fudged some of it on purpose). Wiki, the Lexicon, and various Harry Potter books were my bibles.
> 
> 2) I owe debt to my cheerleader freakingcrups (on LJ) and my beta Ren! Your ego boosts were amazing! Any further mistakes are mine and mine alone. Also, thank you to the following people because this would have been worse without you: R (your patience with me is amazing and I owe you so much), SR (getting me to type out my plan got everything in motion), V1 (for making me realize that no, I didn't have to stick so much to Muggles), and MW (your courage in writing gave me such a boost for this).
> 
> 3) _This is completed_! However, I am uploading it in various parts and over time to make it easier to read. There are six chapters plus an epilogue and it was written for hptimetravel 2012 over at LiveJournal.
> 
> 4) If there are any tags you think I need to add, let me know. I'm bad at those.

Every ill person she came across could be saved, but only with magic. Luna hadn't been sure whether or not she should use it at first, but after a while she didn't have any other choice. She would have to if she wanted to stop anyone from dying. Muggles were not the only ones affected by the sickness, but they seemed to be the ones with less help. The magical community of 547 AD was not the friendliest group, and their magic was dull compared to hers. The number of spells they hadn't yet developed was astonishing and, if she were honest with herself, she was disappointed by their lack of knowledge.

A woman held out a hand to Luna, her arm shaking as if even the effort to hold it up was too much. Luna knew it was, so she quickly took the hand and settled herself onto the pallet next to her. She did the usual spells, the magic coming more naturally to her than it had since she arrived in the past. It had been a long time since she and her friends ran through the Ministry halls while Death Eaters chased behind.

"You're going to be all right," Luna said gently. "Take a deep breath—That's it, good." Luna smiled and ran a hand through the woman's sweaty hair. "I'm going to leave some medicine with your family. I know it will taste funny, but please take it."

The woman nodded, just barely, and Luna pulled away. As usual, she refused payment from the family and handed them some jars and vials. So far, she had yet to meet anyone who did not follow her directions, and this man looked no different. He even repeated the instructions back before thanking her endlessly. She left before the man could try to pay her.

Luna had been trapped in the past for a long time already. She hadn't meant to do it, and she wasn't even sure how it happened. The last thing she remembered was racing through the Ministry of Magic behind Hermione, watching her hair bounce and wondering if the other girl knew that she had shards of prophecy glass scattered through the thick locks. Something had shattered and Luna felt sand digging into her eyes, and when she opened her eyes again, a man stood over her speaking in a strange tongue. With a casual flick of her wand, she had wisps of words under him, as he told Luna he was glad she was alive.

She had arrived just as the plague of Justinian was winding down. She had no choice but to help in whatever way she could, so she quickly took stock of what she remembered in Healing and got to work. It hadn't taken long for her to earn a reputation and the village opened their doors to her with no hesitation after that. She stayed on the edge of town, though, in a borrowed tent, and kept her distance, waiting for any word from her friends.

Her Dumbledore's Army coin still hung around her neck, charmed to be invisible to anyone but herself. She checked it every day for messages, but none came despite the many she sent out. She refused to give up hope, though. They would turn up eventually - she was sure of it.

Learning the local language had not come easily, but she got around the not knowing by never speaking unless she knew exactly what she would be saying. Professor Snape had taught her what the power of a Look could do and she put that to use here. It helped that the village took no notice, caught up as they were in people sick and dying all around them.

When she returned to her tent that night, Luna pulled out her wand to cast privacy charms. She didn't want to be bothered. Her potion store was running low and as it was she didn't think she would have enough for the next day. Taking a deep breath, she settled in her make-shift garden and got to work.

lunalunaluna

Thirty years passed and she never aged a day.

Luna splashed some water on her face at the nearest river, watching as a line of red went with the current, testament to the smears of blood marking her cheeks. The past was full of death. If it wasn't from plague, then it was war. Still, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing and she taught herself to fight with the Muggles' weapons as best she could. If she was careful and dressed properly, none of the soldiers even noticed that a woman was fighting alongside them.

A soft _pop_ drew her attention away from the river and she glanced around, glad that she had remembered to cast the proper charms around herself. Twigs snapped in front of her and then two people stepped into the small clearing.

"That is the _last_ time we travel like that. It hurts," one of them said, rubbing at his arm.

"Stop your complaining. It might be new, but it's faster than your silly carpet." The other one pulled his hair out of his face. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. You're the one that started this."

The two continued to bicker, but the words seemed of little importance. One of them had obviously just Apparated, which was a new spell for witches and wizards now, but Luna only saw the mist following them. Familiar shapes that she hadn't seen in years floated within the mist, giving off a gentle light. Swingbillags, only around for about ten minutes after someone Apparated, danced behind the oblivious wizards.

One of them even had a Nargle hidden in his hair.

Luna let her charms drop and she stepped closer to the bickering wizards. "Excuse me…"

They stopped to look at her, shock evident on their faces.

"Do you know where Hogwarts is?"

"Hogwarts?" The taller one looked to his friend, who shrugged. "Never heard of Hogwarts."

Of course; Hogwarts wouldn't be around yet. Luna tried to remember the year, but it escaped her. "The nearest Wizarding village will also work."

The shorter one stepped forward, his wand out. It looked a little fragile to Luna, but she said nothing about it. "Why should we show you if you don't know?"

Luna shrugged, tucking her wand behind her ear and holding out her hands. "Because I mean no harm. I've been a little lost and haven't been able to leave the Muggles."

The taller one pushed the shorter one's arm down. "Come on, Douglass. I think she's telling us the truth. I know this stuff, remember?" He tapped his head.

Douglass scowled and tucked his wand away. "You still need to teach that to me."

"I will, I will. I'll teach you to disappear, too."

" _No_ thank you."

The man laughed and stepped up to Luna, offering a hand. "My name is Marcus Longbottom. This is Douglass Parkinson."

Luna took the hand. "It's nice to meet you both. My name is Luna."

"Just Luna?" Marcus asked, letting go of her hand to step back.

"Just Luna." Just in case there were any Lovegoods around, she didn't want there to be any awkward introductions. "Are wizards involved in the war?"

"The Muggle war? Some of us."

Douglass nodded, looking in the direction of the Muggle camp. "My brother died the first week."

"We're thinking of pulling out, though. Douglass and I were just here to see how everything was going." He hesitated. "My goodness, have you been fighting with them?"

"It seemed like the right thing to do." Luna smiled as the Nargle settled down on Marcus' shoulder, watching her. It was just one; she hoped it would find its family.

"But a girl? Where's your parents?"

"They're not here," Luna told them honestly. Had anyone discovered time travel by now? She couldn't remember "But my father would be proud of me."

Douglass frowned at Marcus. "We can't just leave her here."

"I never said I was going to." Marcus held out his hand to Luna. "Come on, I'll take you to my mum's. She'll get you cleaned up."

"Thank you." Luna took the hand.

"Be right back, Douglass."

With a _crack_ , they were gone. It was, quite possibly, the worst feeling Luna had felt since a Slytherin had doused her with boil-inducing potion. Her father had Apparated her before and it never felt like this; she hoped Douglass would perfect this mode of transportation before he taught it to others.

He patted her back gently once they landed. "Sorry about that. It's a new thing I'm trying and sometimes the magic doesn't come together that well."

"It's fine." Luna nodded once. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Magic is versatile enough."

"That's what I told Douglass!" Marcus let out a groan and pushed Luna toward a cottage. The gardens were filled with fairies; the Nargle on her shoulder snickered at them, chasing some into the rose bushes with the noise.

Luna smiled at the chase, glad to see some semblance of normality within this new world. "It's very lovely."

"Yeah, my mum is proud." He opened the door and ushered her inside. "Mum! Mum, we have a visitor!"

A plump witch, almost as short as Luna, came out of the kitchen. "Douglass? Oh my! What happened, dear?" She took Luna's face in her hands, tutting as she turned her head from side to side to examine her.

"Mum, this is Luna. Luna, this is my mum."

It was odd to think that this sweet woman would have a family of Slytherins, but that was still generations away. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Parkinson."

"And so polite, too." The older woman looked to her son. "Where did you find her?"

"The battlefield. Her mum and dad are gone."

She hadn't exactly said that, but it was certainly more believable than the truth. She didn't correct him. "I'm sorry to intrude."

"Nonsense." Mrs. Parkinson pulled Luna against her chest. "You poor child. A bath and a meal for you!"

"Sounds perfect." Douglass put a hand on Luna's shoulder. "I have to go back to Marcus, but you're in good hands."

"Be safe, dear." Mrs. Parkinson leaned up to press a kiss to her son's cheek before he could walk out the door. "Don't forget to come home in time for dinner."

"Will do, mum." He waved at the two women and left.

"Your son is very kind."

"That's because his mum raised him right." She took Luna's hands. "Come now, dear. We need to clean you up!"

Luna nodded and let the woman lead her to the bathing area. This world was still so strange to her, even after living here for so long, and she was always glad to find someone kind enough to help her along, no matter for how short a time.

lunalunaluna

Twenty-five more years passed, and eventually Luna accepted that this was just how things would have to be. There was nothing else she could do about it. She left Douglass and his mother after barely a decade, not wanting to answer what should have been simple questions about why she never aged. How could she tell them that she should be nearing her seventies? While witchcraft was an open subject between Muggles and Wizards, they still had their lines and she would have crossed them.

The latest group she had settled with didn't seem to care much, but Luna blamed that mostly on the ale they drank and the drugs they pushed into their systems. Still, being with a group was better than being alone.

The fact that the group was led by a man named Augustus Lovegood had nothing to do with her decision to stay, either. That was what she told herself every time he invited her to sit with his family and spin tales to his children. She continued to tell herself this long after the children thought of her as their surrogate mother and after Augustus asked if she wouldn't mind being his wife.

She did mind, but she didn't tell him why. Her refusal had upset him, but he let her help take care of his children all the same. He chose not to remarry after that, and Luna felt twice as guilty for it. She knew how devastating it was to lose a mother, and she felt deeply for his children.

The older ones spoke of meeting her, of how they would see their mother again once they passed on. Luna shared their sentiments throughout the day, offering what little stories she knew of her own mother. The one time they asked how long ago she died, Luna almost told them the truth, but managed to hold her tongue. They would never believe the truth.

_She_ barely believed the truth.

At night, Luna sat in the treetops above the camp, watching the night sky and wondering. Would she see her mother one day? Her father? What if she didn't die? Would there even be a purpose to living if death did not follow? Perhaps she was like the famous Peverell brother and death would not see her. Was that possible without one of the Hallows? Her father used to read her the story every night, and she knew it by heart.

"Auntie Lulu, may I come up?"

Luna leaned over and smiled at the eldest Lovegood. Cassia took great care of her siblings, though she stepped back and let Luna take over most of the time. It eased an ache in Luna's chest to know that if she had to leave, the children would be in good hands. She waved the girl up.

Cassia smiled and carefully climbed through the branches to settle near Luna. "It sure is lovely up here."

"That's why I come up here. The view and the Willows are comforting."

"The Willows?"

Luna reached up to her shoulder to pull a Willow Faerie off. "They are attracted to high places and to sadness. It's a rare combination, so not many know of them." She pretended not to notice Cassia's frown or how her eyes tracked over Luna's hands. Even among her own family, she was the only one who could see them. That still held true.

"Are you sad, Auntie Lu?" Cassia squinted as if trying to get a better look at the air above Luna's hands. "Papa said you might be."

"I am just remembering, and that makes me a little sad."

"Remembering what?"

Luna closed her eyes and leaned back, her face tilted toward the sky. "The people I've left behind. I miss them."

"Like your mum?"

"And others." Luna rested against the trunk of the tree. She smiled as a Willow settled on her nose. "My friends most of all. We separated unexpectedly and I'm not sure what happened to them."

"That's scary." Cassia swung her legs and the tree swayed gently with her. "I wouldn't be as calm as you if that happened to me."

"It took me a while to get here. Now I just hope I can meet them again soon." Luna brushed the Willow off her nose and watched as it floated to dance in Cassia's strawberry hair. The girl never noticed.

"I hope you do, too." Cassia leaned against the trunk and reached out to take Luna's hand.

They sat there, watching the sky together, until the sun rose over the tree tops. Luna gently brought a sleeping Cassia to the ground and tucked her in before going to her own bed, her thoughts jumbled and confused.

lunalunaluna

No one would truly believe her, and it all went against what she had learned at Hogwarts, but after seeing it, it all made perfect sense to Luna. Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff were four of the closest friends she had ever seen. Much of the history she knew had been wrong about this time period. There were some Muggles worried about magic and sorcery, but they were quiet and stayed outnumbered by those who just didn't care.

Luna had met Godric one evening and entertained him with tales of the creatures she saw. Since then, he had kept her close to his side. If he noticed that she never aged a day, he said nothing of it. When she had the fortune of meeting Salazar, however, things changed. The cunning man occasionally gave her a curious look and Luna wondered what he suspected of her.

Godric and Salazar had met during a dueling game. Luna had had a front-row seat to their growing friendship and watched as they argued and teased each other. She had even been there the day they began to formulate plans for an elite wizarding school and she smiled when names like Toadsbreath and Mollusk were thrown around. They had finally settled on "Hogwarts" during a drunken party celebrating the anniversary of their friendship.

For his twenty-sixth birthday, Godric gave Salazar a beautiful silver locket with an s-shaped snake popping out. Salazar had hissed at the snake, grinning as it hissed back. To Luna's surprise, Godric joined in on the Parseltongue conversation until it ended with both men laughing.

On his next birthday, Salazar gifted Godric an item Luna had seen in Dumbledore's office many times: a goblin-made sword with blood-red rubies gleaning in the handle. Godric joked that he didn't need a sword when he had his wand, but he proudly wore the weapon at his belt nonetheless. It was the first time Luna had seen Salazar blush as he was thanked for the gift.

The two built a solid friendship and Luna let herself ease more and more to an outside observer. Godric still asked for her opinions and stories, but he relied on Salazar more and more. It was supposed to be that way, she told herself. The history books had no mention of a girl named Luna.

Salazar Slytherin was infatuated with Godric Gryffindor, and the oblivious red-headed man took no notice of it. Salazar tried his best to woo Godric, a process which (honestly) reminded Luna of her father's tale of when he tried to woo her mother, but nothing worked. It wasn't until Rowena Ravenclaw came, with a smile and raw humor, that Salazar figured out why.

Luna felt her own heart break as Godric went about wooing the obviously uninterested woman. Rowena noticed and quickly introduced Salazar to Helga Hufflepuff, a plump woman reminded Luna of Molly Weasley. Salazar was uninterested, but developed a strong friendship with her as well.

With the four founders together, Luna quietly took her leave watch them from afar. The four of them talked endlessly of teaching others what they knew, of using their strong magical powers to assist rather than keep it selfishly to themselves. They had the same ideals and it was finally Salazar that put their plan in motion.

It would be another ten years before construction began, but only a year after that, Hogwarts opened its doors to the first wave of children, all eager to learn. There were no houses, no fighting, and no set curriculum practices. Luna helped with the grounds and the animals that soon populated what would one day become the Forbidden Forest. Content for the first time in years, she simply lingered on the edge of their world and watched.

She watched Rowena welcome a baby girl into the world, never revealing the father.

Watched Godric dote on the child as if she were his own.

Watched Salazar grow more and more upset as Rowena and Godric grew ever closer.

Watched Helga distance herself from her friends, too afraid to get between them and the petty squabbles.

Luna didn't stay to find out how one large house split into four, or exactly how or when Salazar left. The peace of the castle had disintegrated the more the founders fought and it was truly a wonder that it lasted through her time. She had mentioned the innate magic once to Godric, but the man just shrugged and claimed he felt nothing.

She wondered, not for the first time, how wizards could be so blind to magic.


	2. Chapter 2

Gertie Keddle put a pot on the stove, insisting all the while that Muggle tea was much stronger than Wizard tea. Luna didn't mind waiting for the water to boil, but the fae creature on her shoulder did, not that Gertie could see it. In fact, it seemed as through Luna was (again) the only one that could see the small things. They were probably native to Wrackspurts since they lived among the weeds, but time would tell.

"So, what brings you out here to the Marsh?" Gertie asked, pulling two chipped mugs off a shelf. "Not that I mind the visitors, but it seems odd to come all the way out here."

"I found the name fascinating," Luna answered honestly. "It reminds me of something I read a long time ago."

"Child, you aren't that old. Now, when you get to be my age, then you can talk about days long past."

Luna smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "I suppose. I sometimes forget how old I am."

"You look not a day over fourteen." Gertie smiled and settled into a chair. "Have you thought of a husband?"

"No, thank you." Luna glanced around the small breakfast nook. It was curious to see that Gertie had not bothered to change the wall colors despite the runs in the wallpaper. Still, it was cozy and felt a little like home. Her father had the same color scheme.

"Ah, but you are young. I'm sure you'll find a man in no time." Gertie got up to pull the screaming kettle off the stove. "My poor Rodolf found me when I was younger than you." She poured two cups and delivered the tray with a cup of sugar to the table.

"Thank you." Luna took the tea without adding anything to it. The pre-Wrackspurt didn't like when it was tainted with sugar. "Where is Rodolf again?"

She heard this story every time Gertie mentioned her deceased husband, but Luna couldn't help it. Gertie actually looked at peace while talking about him.. "I didn't tell you? My poor Rodolf found himself at the wrong end of a wand. He was helping a friend of ours rebuild part of his home. Someone nearby was practicing a spell and it fired straight at my 'Dolf. They told me it killed him instantly, no pain." Gertie pressed a hand to her chest. "I hope to see him again one day."

"One day you will." Luna sipped at her tea.

"Yes, I'm sure." Gertie let out a sigh. "I must write in my journal about you."

"Oh, I would like that very much!" Luna smiled, resting her cup against her cheek so the creature could take a sip. "I hope it will be good things."

"Nothing else, I promise." Gertie pushed her chair back from the table. "Let me just go get Wednesday's jour—"

A _thud_ hit the outside wall. Luna put her tea down, and reached for her wand. "What was that?"

"Those blasted men!" Gertie grabbed her wand, gripping it tightly. "I've told them every day that I don't want them in my marsh!"

The Wrackspurt squeaked and slipped off her shoulder as Luna stood. "This has happened before?"

"Every bloody day it seems." Gertie motioned for Luna to follow her. "Come on, I'm going to give those boys a piece of my mind this time!"

Trying not to seem as amused as she felt, Luna followed Gertie outside and into the muggy yard. A young boy ran away from the house, what looked to be a ball clutched in his arms. Gertie yelled at him, waving her wand over her head and making threats.

"All day long, you bother me! I can never have peace!" She pointed her wand at a man that took the ball from the boy. Luna gave him a smile when he pushed the boy behind his legs. "Stop playing this ridiculous game on my property!"

"We're terribly sorry, Miss Keddle. We've been—"

"My husband may be dead, but I'm still married to him, Prince." Gertie hobbled forward to poke his chest with her wand. "I thought you would remember that, boy."

"Sorry, Mrs. Keddle. We've been trying to put up boundaries, but so far it's only working for the rocks and not the rest of the balls."

"I will hex—"

"Luna?"

Luna looked around, a little startled. This was the last place she expected anyone to recognize her. The small crowd parted and there, looking a little more beat up than she had last seen him, stood Harry Potter. They stepped closer, Luna taking stock in the numerous bruises and cuts over the visible parts of his skin. Nobody else existed as they finally got close enough to embrace, Harry's hold on her tight.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see something familiar," Luna murmured, surprising herself with the admission. She had lived so long without any familiarity that she hadn't realized how much she wanted it. "Oh, Harry."

He stepped back, taking her face in his hands. The smile that she didn't even realize she could miss was there and some part of her filled. "Merlin, Luna, I thought I'd never see you again."

Gertie spit on the ground, some of it landed on the back of Luna's ankle. "If you like these trouble makers so much, you tell them to get off my land. If they don't listen to you, then don't come back for tea!"

Luna turned to watch as Gertie made her way back to the small home, cursing several weeds as she went. A trail of Wrackspurts followed behind her, twittering amongst themselves. Luna knew the threat was empty and if she arrived tomorrow, the old woman's door would still be open to her.

"Who's the girlfriend, Evan?"

Harry turned Luna around and pulled her up against his chest; Luna wanted to cry from the sheer feel of the hold. Not even Douglass had made her feel so protected. "This is Luna."

Being together was always easier than being apart. Luna leaned into his touch, smiling at the boys around them. "We were separated some time ago."

"Must have been when our Evan showed up!" He was a large, bear of a man. Red hair clung to his head in a mixture of sweat and blood. "I'm Rupert Weasley and this is our gaming team." He pointed to each one of them in turn, making the introductions.

Harry Prince looked exactly like Professor Snape, all the way down to the hooked nose and greasy hair. He had more muscle on him and his smile, when he showed it, was infectious. Luna knew why Harry took the name of 'Evan', though she knew that there had to be some confusion. Marcus and Christian Thomas were twins, identical right down to the scars on their arms and the blond highlights in their light-brown hair. They would put the Weasley twins to shame, had they the chance to meet. They, along with Harry and Rupert, were on one team.

The other team also had five players. George Garland, the smallest besides Harry, went mute at the age of four because his drunk father cursed his tongue off. Patrick McFly obviously looked in the mirror far too often as he kept trying to brush through his hair or smooth down his clothes. Robert Flint would snicker behind Patrick, occasionally making a comment about an untucked shirt or scuffed shoe. Anthony Hopkins and Tristan Slughorn rounded out the group, looking more like Crabbe and Goyle than Luna could stand. As far as she could tell, they acted like Malfoy's goons as well.

The little boy, Rupert's son, had latched onto her leg halfway through the introductions. As soon as Rupert was done, the boy tugged on her skirts and gave Luna a wide, toothy grin.

"My name is Arthur," he told her proudly. "I chase the ball when they miss!"

Harry laughed, squeezed Luna once, and then knelt down to talk to Arthur at his level. "And you do it so well, too. We'd be lost without you."

Rupert laughed as Arthur beamed at them. "Well, it's been fun, but I think it's time we get him home to the wife. She worries when I'm out here too long." He looked to the rest of the group and waved. "We'll meet back here tomorrow and figure out how to keep old Keddle out of our game."

The group said their goodbyes before heading off. Some of them Apparated, but others simply got on their brooms and took off. Luna waved at little Arthur until they were out of sight.

"How long have you been here?" she asked Harry.

"Let's go back to my place and we can talk." Harry held out his hand to her. "I'm sure we both have a lot to go over."

Luna took the hand, smiling as their fingers laced. "I'm sure."

"Sorry about the girlfriend comment. The guys think—"

"It's fine, Harry." Luna squeezed his hand. "I'm not sure we should mingle like that with the people here. We could mess up the future."

"If this is really our past. Who says this isn't some alternate universe or something?" Harry sighed, leading Luna around a bubbling area of the marsh. "I know what you mean, though. Patrick tried to set me up with his sister."

"He reminds me of Malfoy."

Harry laughed and pushed back a tree branch. "I've met a Malfoy. Orion Malfoy is a Squib who sits on the ground during a game and tries to coach everybody as if he made up the sport. Nobody believes he's a Malfoy when he says so, but I'd recognize that hair and nose combination anywhere. I wonder if it's genetic, or if they do something to alter the DNA…"

"Did you tell him that?"

"Of course not. The bugger would probably be afraid I'd send him back home. They aren't as cruel to Squibs as history says, but they aren't nice either. Orion was treated like a house elf and, believe me, I know how that feels."

"I know, Harry." Luna released his hand so they could climb over a fallen log. As soon as her feet touched the ground on the other side, she felt the tingle of protective magic. "It's so strong…"

"It was here when I showed up, actually. Rupert joked that there were wards here that only allowed Gryffindors and their guests to enter, but the cottage has been abandoned for years." He shrugged, pulling back a larger branch to give Luna a full view of the house.

It looked like a shack, but the tingle of magic was so strong that she wanted to cry from the sheer power of it. The image faded, but she saw a flicker of several stories instead of the one that was obvious. The flicker extended through the clearing, but there was no way the one-room shack could cover that much space.

Space. Exactly. Luna smiled and took Harry's hand again. "Wizards Space, then?"

He laughed, pulling her toward the rickety-looking door. "I figured you'd see past it. It's quite roomy inside, actually."

"What did Rupert say when you simply walked in here?" Luna ran her hand along the rotting outer wall. It was smooth, welcoming in its feeling.

"He figured the ward thing was just a rumor. He didn't stay to come inside." Harry opened the door. "After you."

Luna stepped into the house, her breath catching. A grand staircase met her, two hallways branching off on either side of it. A doorway to the right led to a parlor while the left looked to be a small library. She had seen Godric Gryffindor help build Hogwarts and had no doubt that he, at the very least, had a hand in creating this masterpiece.

"It's beautiful."

"Wait until you see the rest of the house. Come on, I'll make us something to eat first."

Harry pulled her down the hallway to the right. Luna looked up to see at the staircase circle onto yet another floor and she smiled. There were so many things to explore, so many creatures to find.

"Living here must be wonderful."

"It can be." Harry sat her down in a stool. "Learning to cook again was difficult since they do things different, but I've learned to enjoy it."

"How long have you lived here?"

"Five years or so." Harry put a kettle of the stove. "I've been _here_ fifteen years. I just missed them building Hogwarts and they almost pulled me into next year's class. I panicked and ran until I could stop and think. It took a while to get used to things here."

Luna sighed. "You're lucky, really."

"Why? How long have you been here?"

"I lost track, but it should be around five-hundred years."

Harry dropped the two cups he had just grabbed, but the sound of the pottery shattering didn't even reach Luna's ears. "Five-hundred… Are you serious?"

"I wish I were joking. It's rather unnerving, but it's the truth." Luna got up to repair the cups, not bothering to use her wand. Harry frowned at the display. "It has been useful. There are certain things you learn after that long."

"What the hell happened to us?"

Luna shrugged and stepped closer to give Harry some comfort. "I'm not sure. The last thing I remember is the Department of Mysteries."

"I grabbed the Prophecy and then I woke up in the Forbidden Forest." Harry took the repaired cups and poured the tea. "Do you think the others are around?"

"I'm sure we'll find them eventually." Luna sat back on the stool. "We just have to be patient."

Harry frowned at her. "Patience is one thing I don't have. This is my—"

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Harry Potter. We chose to go with you. We might not have realized what we were getting into, but we went into it willingly."

Harry turned his head away to stare at the wall. "Voldemort is my fight."

"Voldemort has never just been your fight." Lune took both full cups and placed them beside her. Harry's shaking hands rested first on his face, and then gently within her fingers. His shoulders relaxed as the worldless and wandless soothing charm flowed from Luna's body into his own. "You have five friends who will do anything for you without you having to ask."

"Yes, but—"

"And," Luna continued, ignoring his attempt at an interruption, "you have dozens of witches and wizards willing to stand behind you and fight. I saw it all, Harry Potter. You gave them courage where they otherwise had none. Don't put yourself short.'

Harry sighed and took a step closer so he could rest his forehead against her own. Though she couldn't feel it, she knew his scar was there and it felt rough against her skin. She hated how he felt he needed to shoulder the burdens when all she wanted to do was help him carry them.

"What would I do without you?" he asked.

"Make a few more mistakes than you would otherwise." Luna pressed a kiss to his cheek and leaned back. "You need to leave here. Five years is pushing it, especially since they don't know how to change their appearance yet."

Harry took his cup of tea with a sigh. "I know. I'm surprised there haven't been more questions about my age since I still look like the skinny fifteen-year-old I was before. I stuffed myself for a whole month once to see if I would gain weight. Nothing, not even a pound."

"I'm sure there's a reason for it." Luna didn't mention the month she tried to starve herself for the same experiment. There was no need to worry Harry. "I think we should travel around a bit."

"I've always wanted to see Italy…"

Luna smiled. "I doubt it looks like it does in the future."

"Then we'll be up for an adventure."

"Harry?" Luna reached out to him, resting her hand on his arm. "Be honest with me. Did you help them invent Quidditch?"

He blushed and, for a moment, Luna thought that he would admit to doing just that. "Of course not. I hadn't thought of Quidditch until I saw them. It was pretty easy pretending to not know what they were doing."

"I'm just making sure. We shouldn't change the past if we can help it."

"If we're even in the past."

"Yes," Luna agreed. "Yes, if we're in the past."

Harry took a breath, letting it out slowly. "Let's travel, then. Hopefully we can find the others."

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Dorset wasn't the most exciting of places, but a passing traveler had said enough to catch Harry's attention. A small wizarding village just outside of Piddletown wanted to create an official Quidditch team; Harry immediately begged Luna to come with him to see how far they had gotten. Luna was sure it wasn't just to look, but she agreed and the two set off to move themselves into a shared home. Their only neighbor, so far, was a middle-aged witch with her three children.

They had been there three months when Harry came back to the house, a large grin on his face. Immediately, Luna said her goodbyes to Mrs. Filch and her three children and ushered them out before beckoning Harry to follow her to their room. The bed sheets were still twisted from their activities that morning.

"Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no," she said as soon as the door closed.

"You don't even know what I'm excited about yet." Harry pouted a bit at her, his lower lip sticking out and making him look ridiculous.

It was not about to stop her. "The whole reason we came here was because of Quidditch and I know they were voting today. What's the outcome?"

The pout disappeared. "I knew what they would say, but it's still exciting. Piddlemere United is officially formed!" Harry rushed forward to pick her up, spinning her around the room. "Quidditch is officially born!"

Luna smiled. She couldn't help it, not really. His excitement seemed to radiate off him and seep into her skin. "Who would they play?"

"It'll just be training for now." Harry settled them both on the bed. "They're recruiting people who really know the game and, between them, they'll decide who gets to be the Captain. I did hear a rumor that a few other teams were trying to get together."

"Are you happy we came here?" Luna reached out to lace their fingers together. She traced her thumb over the back of his hand. "I couldn't imagine being here if I were you."

"Why not? This is where Quidditch was born, where everything started. I can't wait to be part of it."

"Harry—"

"Can you imagine being one of the first official players? It feels like yesterday I was in that marsh, passing a lopsided ball around." Harry raised Luna's hand to kiss it. "Thank you for letting us come here."

"We can't participate."

Harry frowned at her, their hands slowly dropping between them. "What do you mean? Luna, nobody remembers who the first players were anyway."

"I suppose…"

"Please?" Harry looked down at their hands. "I feel so lost here and Quidditch is my grounding point. We both know more magic than most of the people here today and it's hard just sitting back and watching as they discover the proper way to Apparate. Not like we could have taught them that part, but still…"

Luna closed her eyes, knowing that she couldn't deny Harry this. "What color are the uniforms? And when will the name change? 'Piddlemere' doesn't quite sound as good as 'Puddlemere'."

The smile on Harry's face was well worth the stress Luna was sure would come out of this. "A disgusting shade of brown and not for a few hundred years." He tilted his head. "Do you think I should offer to write all the official details down? I could make a spelling error on Puddlemere's behalf."

"Don't you dare. We're risking enough just letting you try out for the team."

"All right, but you worry too much." Harry leaned forward to kiss her, something he had taken the liberty of doing when he was happy. Luna hardly minded.

Kissing Harry always led to doing more with him and it wasn't long before Luna's clothes ended up on the floor. They'd long ago stopped using protection spells and they both simply let themselves _feel_ as one body slid across another, skin against skin.

Harry Potter was the one person Luna knew she could trust, though it wasn't the only reason she let him take her virginity one rainy night in Scotland so many years ago. They had gone to watch the completion of Hogsmeade, all three buildings of it. They'd taken a room in the local pub, the Prancing Faerie, and watched the rain saturate the ground.

Their magic reached out for another, and Luna had no real reason to deny the pull. It hadn't been comfortable and they both fumbled through the process, but it gave them something they'd been missing: a sense of peace.

As the years progressed, their sexual knowledge did as well. While they did not find a place to have sex every day, as they had done that first year, they did it at least once a week. Harry seemed more relaxed each time, especially when he had no outlet for his pent-up magic.

His magic, the raw power behind it, drew Luna more than Harry did by himself. It pulled at her, demanding to be harnessed and shared. Luna often wondered how Harry dealt with the turmoil sure to be going inside his body all the time. Sex, for now, seemed to be the answer.

Quidditch tryouts took two long weeks. Harry left with the sunrise and came home long after dusk. He reassured Luna that he was playing by the rules and it was "loads of fun," but she could see through his lie. Every night, something more seemed to die in him. His sleep became tense and his smile more forced.

He came home early on the last day and simply curled into bed next to Luna, his arms wrapping tightly around her. She said nothing as his silent tears soaked through her night shirt.

Years later, in 1269 when the Snitch was finally incorporated into Quidditch, Harry simply shrugged at the announcement and suggested they go to Hogwarts. If he wasn't old enough for professional Quidditch, he would be old enough for school games.

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"It's amazing how the wizarding world moves," Harry said as they sat in their seats. "I mean, two hundred years ago, Quidditch was just picking it's feet off the ground and look where we are now."

Glad that they had their own booth for the first ever Quidditch World Cup, Luna just smiled at Harry's obvious excitement. She had to agree, but Harry still had no idea just how slow witches and wizards were. Nearly a thousand years told her that.

"This is more exciting than the first Triwizard Tournament."

"You never did like the Tournament," Luna reminded him. "You were one of the professors against it until I had to remind you that we couldn't change anything."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Harry got up to press against the glass like a child. "What I wouldn't give for some Omnioculars, though."

"That isn't for a very long time. Sit down, the stands aren't even filled yet."

"Something's going to happen." Harry stepped back to sit down. "I can _feel_ it. Can't you?" He rubbed his hands on his pants and, for once, Luna couldn't tell if his smile was excited or nervous. "It's this incredible rush."

Luna put a hand on his arm, barely holding herself back from flinching at the spark that shot between them. "I can feel you and that's scary enough, thank you." She frowned, squeezing his arm once. "You should probably relax."

"I'm relaxed."

"Harry, please." Luna rested her hands in her lap, fists clenched. "There's way too much excitement. I think this was a bad idea."

Harry sat down next to her, a hand rubbing her arm. "You going to be okay? You've been off lately and I don't want you to feel pressured to be here."

"I'm not feeling pressured." Luna closed her eyes, letting the rush of magic from the crowd flow over her. "I think I'm just sensitive to this many people."

"You've been like this since—"

"The Black Death, I know. Maybe I caught something and it's affecting me slower because we're not aging."

"Or maybe you have Wrack-whatsit."

Luna returned Harry's cheeky grin with a thoughtful frown. "Wrackspurt, and maybe you're right. They do tend to make the brain fuzzy. I think they evolve, too."

"See? Simple as that." Harry stood and went back to get a closer look at the growing crowd. "I think we're about to start."

Luna let him get excited, using the new boost of energy in the air to calm herself. Harry was right on that point: ever since the plague had dripped through the Isles nearly a hundred and fifty years ago, she had become more sensitive to magic. She could tell just by meeting a wizard how powerful they were, and just how powerful they would become

What she saw in Harry would have scared her, if she hadn't seen the same thing reflected back at her in the mirror.

That aside, the wizarding world of 1473 wasn't too terrible. Medical knowledge and solid spellwork were still lacking, Wizards had made significant progress. Someone had finally invented Floo Powder shortly after Hogwarts earned its reputation as a decent school for Magic. It had been something of a shock, since most of their world was still known to Muggles, but the rest would come in time. Lune and Harry were still waiting for the rest of the wizarding world to invent the spells that would secret them away.

As it was, the Muggles feared them more and more with each passing decade. Every now and then they would hear about a failed witch-burning attempt and they thankfully heard about a successful one only a handful of times. Still, Luna had no intention of waiting for the day when they were wide spread and threatened more than just arrogant women angry with their husbands.

"Their snitch is slow," Harry said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Merlin, _I_ see it and the Seekers don't."

"You were the best of your age." Luna decided not to mention that she, too, could see the Snitch.

Harry sat down. "True, but my eyes are getting blurry again."

"You should have said something. Come here." Luna rested her hands on Harry's face, palms over his eyes.

"You know I don't like asking you for this. We can find me new glasses…"

A warm tingle ran down her arms and spread into Harry's cheeks and forehead. She had done this accidentally before, somehow fixing his eyesight for nearly ten years. He had needed the process repeated in order to keep his sight, but the trouble was worth it to Luna. She liked seeing Harry without his black-framed accessory and he was certainly less conspicuous without them.

"I like doing this, Harry. Stop complaining." Luna leaned forward to kiss him once she was finished. A friendly kiss, nothing like what they had shared years before. "All better."

"You're the best." Harry took her hand to squeeze it once. "You'll have to teach that to Hermione. She reads so much, you know her eyes are getting bad." His smile faltered briefly. "If we ever find Hermione and the others, that is"

"I'm sure we'll find them." Luna looked toward the game. A Chaser had been knocked from his broom. "I found you, after all."

"Just me." Harry sighed, leaning forward in his chair. "I miss them."

"I know." She leaned against him, her body aligning along his. "I miss them, too."

The Chaser for a small team in Rome accidentally caught the Snitch after three hours of playtime, and they left the match before the riots began.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been easy to hide at first. Luna had been around for nearly a thousand years, and Harry's instincts kept them out of any real danger. They tried living within a large Wizarding community, but one of the newly legal teenagers slipped up and a single spell had the Muggles attacking the peaceful village without warning. Within hours, most of the homes had been engulfed in flames and Luna could smell the burning flesh even after they got away.

She feared everyday that they would find one of their new friends aflame and screaming. Their history books told them nothing of how the actual witch burnings took place. There weren't any witches or wizards that knew spells to protect them from fire and Luna had no idea where to begin teaching them about it. The only thing they could do was run and hope they survived.

To save themselves, she and Harry moved into a growing Muggle community as far away from the madness as they could. Sure, the people still burned anyone they suspected of being a witch, but that happened only once a month (instead of once-a-day, as some of the inner cities). Luna attended every burning, needing to know the cruelty for herself. Harry refused after the first one and she didn't have the heart to pull him back. Harry always wanted to save them, and it killed him that he couldn't.

They kept any wizarding items hidden well away from their Muggle neighbors. Harry insisted that in order to not seems suspicious, they had to act as if they had nothing to hide, but that didn't stop the fear from taking hold in Luna's chest everytime someone stepped into their home. She thanked Harry everyday for figuring out how to age themselves with subtle glamours. However, she still wasn't sure if their luck was good or bad; they lost their wands in one of the first Muggle raids. Not that they needed them anymore, but the almost useless wood had been a comfort.

Luna made them plan an escape route for any conceivable danger. Apparation still eluded Harry for reasons neither of them quit understood, so that was out of the question. Harry got particularly good at disappearing, however, slipping right past someone while still appearing visible to her. She envied that trick, but it was something she couldn't quite get a hold of. They would save using their separate talents to save themselves as a last resort. They were all the other had and neither wanted to change that.

A year passed and, over time, they both grew complacent. Their neighbors accepted them for Muggles and gossiped about the latest person accused of witchcraft. Harry would always claim he didn't know them; if he truly didn't, he made sure to find out about them later. Luna simply accepted the name with a nod and said nothing either way. The neighbors never seemed to suspect a thing.

In the end, it was their garden that gave them away.

Harry called them Snatchers and they came in the middle of the night, creeping into the house. The neighbors had tossed a party the night before and they had been stupid enough to drink more than they should have. The warnings were going off in Luna's mind, but she found herself wanting to sleep more than get up and figure out why things were wrong.

She woke up to Harry's yell, harsh and strangled next to her on the bed. A hand clasped over her mouth and Luna immediately felt a hard chest behind her. She could Apparate out of this, but what about Harry? Eyes wide, Luna watched Harry struggle with two men on the floor, and she made her decision in an instant. If he got free, she would go with him. If he was captured, she would not leave his side.

One of the men brought a shovel, and Harry was soon unconscious on the floor with a path of blood running a trail just above his left ear. Luna closed her eyes, knowing that the cut would soon close up and the men would have all the proof they needed. Back when they had discovered their bodies healed themselves, Luna thought it to be a gift. She now knew that she had been foolish.

The men standing above Harry sucked in a breath and she knew it had happened. They had truly given themselves away.

"We have a strong one here, gentlemen. Take them both in."

They pulled her out first and Luna did the only reasonable thing she could: she screamed, kicking out her feet as the man holding her dragged her through the house. The air outside chilled her skin and a few lights were on in the homes beside them. Luna continued to scream, hardly caring when more lights flickered to life in the windows. She didn't care how much this disturbed them.

Screaming meant Harry wouldn't try to fight as he woke up. He would hear her and go with the men simply to stay by her side. They could disappear together later. They were still unprepared as all the other Snatchers had come during the day; they had never planned to have to escape in the dead of night.

Luna screamed all the way to the holding cells. She struggled into the cell, trying to push out just as they closed the bars. Much to her relief, the men pushed Harry into the slightly smaller cell next to her.

The men left them alone and Luna immediately reached through the bars to Harry. "Are you okay?"

"Just a headache now." Harry bowed his head to let her fingers drift through his hair. "Thank you."

Luna smiled, letting her magic trail from her fingers to his head. He never could get rid of his headaches alone. "We'll find a way out of this."

"You can just Apparate. I'll just disappear and wait for them to notice." Harry tilted his head, kissing Luna's palm. "If they notice."

"They will when they come to collect us for the burning." At least they knew ways of surviving that, if they couldn't disappear before. "We'll escape together."

"Luna?" Harry took her hand in his own. "I'm sorry. I heard them talking as they brought us here. They saw me spelling the plants for the cold."

"This isn't your fault."

"Of course it is." Harry released her hands and settled against the bars separating them. "It's okay. I'll get us out of here."

Luna laughed at his confidence, relaxing against the bars as well. "Promise?"

"I do."

As it turned out, he didn't need to promise anything. The sun barely peeked through the small windows when an explosion rocked the building. Shields were put up in time for the ceiling to crumble a bit over their heads; Harry got to his feet after the walls settled.

"Was that you?" he asked, going to the bars. One of his had dislodged itself from the ceiling and he pulled at it.

"You would have known if it were me." They had each seen the destruction the other could do. Harry's magic was more powerful, but Luna's was more focused. Still, destroying a wall they couldn't see was a stretch. "Though why we didn't think of doing it ourselves…"

Harry smiled a little. "Lack of sleep."

Another explosion hit, completely collapsing the ceiling where Harry had been sitting before. Luna scrambled away from the bars; even with a shield, she would rather not be in that spot. They barely had a chance to think over this before a scruffy and dirty face peered from above them. The man grinned and, when he spoke, his accent was a thick Welsh.

"We all right down there?"

Luna nodded to Harry, instinct telling her all she needed to know about this man. Harry didn't look at her, but she knew that he had seen the movement. Hundreds of years together made this easy.

"Yeah, we're okay. Can I get a hand?" Harry stepped up to the hole and stretched up.

"That's what I'm here for. Hold tight, miss, and we'll get you out as well."

"There's no need for that," Luna said, then Apparated directly out of the building. She smiled at the Humdinger now chittering away on her shoulder.

The town around them was encased in chaos. People ran from building to building screaming, though Luna had no idea what it was they were screaming about. One mentioned a fire, but Luna saw no smoke. When another pointed at a house and began to cry, she understood. Someone had cast a powerful illusion. She wished she could see it, too.

"For Circe's sake, girl! Why didn't you do that before?"

Luna turned to laugh at the wizard behind her. She must have scared him, showing up as she did. "I couldn't leave Harry behind."

"You're mad." He glanced to the building as Harry struggled up. "Oi, Garrett! Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"We're coming, stop yelling!" Garrett and Harry jumped off the roof. "This one here doesn't know how to disappear. That's why they weren't gone before."

"Lucky for us, then." The man motioned for Harry and Luna to follow. "We have to go while the place is still a mess. Don't want all of us getting caught."

"How long does the illusion last?" she asked. The Humdinger faded from her shoulder and she wished it well.

"Long enough to get out of here." Garrett pushed Harry a bit in front of him. "Now run. There's not much time left."

Harry's hand found hers and together they ran after the still nameless wizard. His blond hair, almost like Malfoy's, led the way out of the city and into the surrounding forest. He cast a _Lumos_ once the leaves blocked out the sun.

Other footsteps soon joined them and their group of four grew to six, and finally seven. Just when Luna thought they would need to find medical attention for Garrett's wheezing, they stopped. The trees around them now seemed to glow and Luna soon got caught up within the lights dancing between the branches.

"Luna, come on." Harry tugged on her hand. "It's a ward and we have to walk through it one at a time."

"To see if it accepts us," Luna said, her voice soft. "It's so beautiful." Without another word, she stepped through the shimmery enchantment. The warmth spread across her arms and down to her toes. She had felt this kind of protection before and a smile moved across her face.

When Harry stepped through, the smile across his face seemed to match her own. "I know this magic…"

"Shh. We're close." Luna took his hand. "We're so close."

Garrett put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come on, we just have to tell the misses that you're here. She'll want to get you logged and organized into something. She's organized that one. Ah, there she is now… Hermione!"

He wasn't able to get the name fully out before Harry and Luna were running to meet the crying and shocked girl in the middle of a crowded clearing.

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Hermione curled next to Harry as they reacquainted themselves with another. Luna had long since gotten over the mutual agreement she had with Harry, so this didn't bother her. She did wonder if the others would be just as clingy, or if it were just a girl thing. Perhaps it was just a Hermione thing.

"I've been here for three years," Hermione told them. Her voice was softer than Luna remembered. "They saved me from a burning a few towns over and, since then, I decided to stay and help. Most of the people we rescue go back into hiding after."

"We'll stay." Harry rubbed Hermione's arm. "Of course we'll stay. But…"

Luna reached out to take Hermione's hand, knowing Harry hated to deliver bad news. "We can't stay forever."

"Of course we can't. We have to find the others!" Hermione looked up to Harry. "They could be out there getting caught, too."

"We'll find the others in due time."

Hermione gave Luna a scowl. "That isn't good enough."

"It will have to be." Luna motioned between herself and Harry. "We're both hundreds of years old, Hermione. Something will draw us to the others when it is time."

"It took you too long to find me," Hermione insisted. "I thought I was the only survivor when nobody came after a few months."

Of course. Luna opened her mouth to say something, but Harry beat her to it. "Luna was alone for half a century before she found me. How do you think she felt?"

"I'm pretty sure we didn't find you earlier because we weren't travelling as much," Luna said, adding to Harry's defense. "We were afraid to even leave our house with all this burning business."

"I was the idiot that got us caught in the end." Harry wrinkled his nose. "Not my best day."

"I'm sure Hermione's heard stories like ours before, though. I want to hear hers." Luna relaxed back on the cot they had settled on. "What happened after you were rescued?"

Hermione seemed to relax a little and Luna figured she was glad neither she nor Harry decided to lecture her on the error of making assumptions. Years of being alive taught them not to really care about the petty things like that. Life went on, no matter what happened, and it wasn't good to focus so much on things that wouldn't change.

"Garrett took me in and showed me the ropes. He and the other men go out to rescue people, while the women stay behind and make sure we have plenty of food and shelter for everyone. Even with wizard space, we're all on shifts to sleep just so we have enough beds for each person. There are a few who decide to sleep on the floor, but that normally doesn't last long."

"The floor is uncomfortable," Luna agreed. "When I first came back in time, it was in the middle of a plague and then a war. It was wonderful when I had a bed under me again."

Hermione nodded. "The ground out here just feels twice as hard." She pulled away from Harry. "There's been talk of hiding away the wizarding world, but from what I remember, that didn't happen until the summer of 1692."

"It's nowhere near that now." Harry looked toward Luna for confirmation. "It's 1624, right?"

"1626, but you were close."

Hermione's eyes widened. "I never asked what year it was. Is it really 1626?"

"I'm afraid so, 'Mione. I figured you'd love this."

"There's so much to find out, yes, but I don't particularly _love_ it." She sighed. "This is just all so different from what we were taught at Hogwarts. I wanted to write a different history text, but I wasn't sure what that would change in the future. Would we still be around? What did they call it again? The butterfly something."

"I remember hearing about that." Harry leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Luna and I try not to change things, though that was difficult to do when Quidditch picked up."

"Did you ever play professional?"

"Seekers don't do well in the other positions," Harry mumbled. "I tried, but it didn't work."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged and pushed himself to stand. "Dirt under the rug. So, where do I go to sign up for these missions? And don't fight this, Hermione. I'm too old to sit back and watch people die."

Hermione glanced toward Luna before motioning outside. "Find Garrett and let him know you're interested. He'll be glad for the extra set of hands, at least."

"Thanks." Harry pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm glad we found you."

Hermione smiled at Harry as he left. Luna waited until she could hear the conversation begin between the two men before shifting closer to Hermione. Just because this world had rules about women not fighting didn't mean that she would sit here and do nothing.

"What can I do to help?"

The smile on Hermione's face was now almost breathtaking. Not for the first time, Luna figured she would make a fantastic Ravenclaw. "We pretend, I guess."

"Pretend to what?"

"Research." Hermione shrugged. "There are people that want to begin to hide the world, but they want to know all the ways to do it before they decide. I know how they did it, I think, but I suppose we've already proved that our history isn't trustworthy."

"It is written by the victor and I suppose wizards always say themselves as coming out on top."

"Exactly!" Hermione got and held her hand out to Luna. "So I've just been making sure they're right. Want to join me?"

Luna didn't have to think before she let her hand slip into Hermione's own. At least they would be doing something more than simply hiding away from the world, like she and Harry had been trying to do.

"It would be my pleasure. Show me what you already know."

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In the end, Hermione found herself afraid that the wizarding world wouldn't find the information they needed in time, and she gently steered them in the right direction of secrecy spells. It had been harder to do this while hiding their lack of aging, but in the end it didn't matter. Nobody was noticing them much, too busy running around trying to set rituals and runes. They disappeared for a while to help another fraction of wizards, just in case, and when they returned to the original camp, it was led by Garrett's son Thomas. It was where most of the planning seemed to take place; Luna recognized some of her own notes within the neat piles.

The wizards debated for four months on how to best hide their world away. Finally, with a little pushing from Hermione, they made the decision and pulled aside every witch and wizard that could be taught the proper spells for the barrier. Hermione hadn't wanted Harry and Luna to use their full power, but Luna knew they would be useless if they shied away from it. They needed to give everything they had so the wards would be stronger.

On a relatively cold and rainy July morning, Luna lifted her wand and joined in with the rest of the camp in warding their particular assigned section. Putting up the wards felt like coming home, though she didn't quite understand why. A shiver ran down her spine as the final spells snapped into place. Nothing outward had changed, but the feeling was different.

Thomas made his way over to the three of them with a smile. "It worked, thank you. My cousin's Muggle friend said that he can't see the village anymore. We'll settle down for a while and wait for word from the others."

Harry nodded, tucking his wand away. "That sounds good. I think I'm going to get out of this drizzle and get some sleep."

Hermione's eyes widened and she followed Harry, no doubt preparing to lecture him on using his full power. Luna smiled at their backs before looking to Thomas and sticking her wand into her hair.

"It'll be nice to feel safe. What will we do with the Muggleborns?"

"We're still figuring that out. Headmaster Fudge told us that Hogwarts can find them, so I suppose we can talk to the families first and go from there." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm not wholly comfortable taking kids away from their families, though."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Luna stepped through the new wards. "I feel safer already."

"You say that now," Thomas said, a laugh coming out as well. "I'm just glad all the debating is over. Now we can really start to live. Don't you agree?"

Luna knew where this was going and she sighed. "Thomas…"

"Come on." He took her hand in his, bringing the fingers up to kiss them. "Why won't you let me court you?"

"I'm not the girl for you." Luna pulled her hand away. "Believe me when I tell you to find a girl that will stay with you. I won't."

"Why not?"

"I'm a traveler. I don't like staying in one spot for too long."

Thomas scoffed and reached for her again. "You don't look a day over seventeen and you've been here for two years. How many other places could you have gone?"

"You'd be surprised." Luna took a step back. "I am truly sorry. You're nice and I would normally be happy that you chose me."

"But?" he asked, acceptance slowly coming to his features.

"But I simply can't. I'm sorry." Her heart broke as she took another step. In another life, another world, perhaps she would have taken the man up on his offer. She had been asked this same question by many men over the years, but none of them had actually made her feel anything back. Thomas had always been different.

"Does that mean you're leaving soon?" He sat down on a nearby log, the only part left from a tree that had fallen a few months before.

"Most likely. It depends on when Harry and Hermione are ready to leave." Luna sat next to him, hoping to give him some kind of comfort in her presence. "You'll find someone who will love you more than I ever could. You're a good man, and men like you deserve the best."

"What if I think you're the best?"

Luna shook her head. "I'm not. Thomas, look at me." She waited for his head to turn. "I have my faults, possibly more than you could know. I wish you could see that."

"Your faults make you who you are. I see no problem with that."

She could fall for this man, but it would only hurt them both. "Forgive me, Thomas, but I can't. I wish I knew what to do to help—"

"Marry me, Luna."

"—but we can't do this." Luna leaned forward, placing a small kiss to his cheek, and then stood up. "Find someone who isn't me. Goodbye, Thomas."

Luna walked away to join Harry and Hermione in sleep, ignoring the tears that threatened to fall. They had to leave in the morning or she would do something she wasn't supposed to do. Despite the men who wanted to be her suitor, none had come out and asked for her hand. They simply stopped at the decline to be courted.

As she curled around Hermione's back, taking in the girl's warmth, she closed her eyes and wished as hard as she could that things would be different.

hermionehermionehermione

Eight years passed before Luna felt confident enough to return to England. The news made Hermione smile before she launched into what should be going on at that point in time. Frankly, Luna didn't care if the Ministry was being formed or not, but she indulged Hermione with a smile and let the girl drag her around their temporary house as they packed.

Harry simply watched Hermione's excitement and Luna made a mental note to hex him later for not helping her.

Their arrival in London was nothing like what they had expected. Wizards in purple robes ran down the street, chasing goblins wielding small swords and axes. Something exploded behind them and Luna suddenly found herself shielded by Harry's arms. A woman ran past them, screaming as a goblin gave chase – two wizards followed, yelling a mix of threats and curses. Luna quickly took in as much of the situation as she could before pulling her just-as-startled friends into a shadowy doorway.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked the question they were all thinking.

"You there!"

The three jumped and turned to look at one of the purple-robed wizards. Harry held up his hands. "We don't mean any harm!"

"I doubt you do. What are you doing standing around here?" He turned and fired off a spell, downing a goblin. "Can't you see the goblins have gone out of their bloody minds? Get home to your mum and dad!"

"Yes, sir." Harry took one of their hands in each of his before running in the opposite direction of the fighting.

Once they were in a deserted part of the town, Hermione pulled her hand away and leaned over to catch her breath. "An uprising?"

"Looks like it." Harry pulled out his wand. His knuckles were white against it. "I thought they were over by now."

"No, it's just too early." Hermione frowned. "I don't understand. The Ministry should be putting itself together right now, not this."

"Harry and I learned that not all the history we know is the truth. You should, too."

Hermione frowned at Luna. "Of course I know that, but I didn't think it would lie about things like this."

"Stop arguing, both of you," Harry said. "Let's just find our way to the Ministry. We'll figure out what's going on there. They set up a building by now, right?""

Hermione pursed her lips and kept quiet for a long time before sighing. "According to the books I read, yes, they should have a building by now. They used Albert's Magical Academy since it was already big enough."

Albert's had been a shock to the three of them when it was built a hundred years before. It hadn't done as well as Hogwarts and the doors closed about twenty years after it opened. Harry tried teaching there once, but found the other professors a bit too uncaring and more concerned with praising the magically adept and shunning those that struggled. All three had been happy when it closed and the building had since stood unused and abandoned.

"I hope they got rid of the smell," Harry said with a grin. "I think that prank topped anything Fred and George ever did."

The entrance to the Ministry was flooded with people. Luna watched as Muggles would simply walk by, as if they didn't notice anything at all amiss, and was glad that someone had thought to put up Muggle-repelling charms.

"I wonder what's going on," Hermione said, trying to see over the mass of heads.

A witch in front of them turned around to give Hermione a glare. "Where have you been, girl! Everybody knows about the Ministry!"

"We were on holiday," Harry said quickly. "Before that, we didn't really get that involved with things." His fingers twitched just slightly and Luna held back a smile. Harry was always good at _convincing_ people not to question their alibis.

The witch huffed. "Well, that won't do. They've finally formed a bloody government, but forgot to put someone as up Minister. Someone had the bright idea to offer the position to the public."

"So anyone could make a bid?" Hermione asked.

"Anyone who wants the bloody post."

Hermione didn't wait to hear another word. She pushed through the crowd with fierce determination.

"This isn't good," Luna said to Harry.

"Yeah, I know."

The two made their way through the mob after Hermione. She was fully in the building and almost at the front of the small temporary stage, her hands waving in the air as she yelled out various ideas to make society better. Except, she kept speaking about things that hadn't happened, about wars that hadn't been fought. Luna frowned and waved a hand, parting the group of people in front of them.

Harry reached her before anyone noticed and pulled Hermione away from the crowd, ignoring as she yelled at him and threatened to hex his bits off. Luna simply followed silently, hoping Hermione would come to her senses. All of them knew their unspoken rules, but Hermione was still young and tended to forget in the heat of the moment. It was harder for her not to get involved, which was completely understandable, however…

"Shut _up_ , Hermione." Harry pushed her into an empty room. Luna settled on one of the desks still there. "You need to step back and realize what you're doing."

"I'm trying to make the world a better place. Why can't you—"

"Because we're in the past," Luna said softly, relieved when her words sunk in and Hermione's eyes widened. "Don't worry, Harry and I had this conversation before."

"Quidditch," Harry said, explaining everything in that one word. "Look, Hermione, we're still fifteen in their eyes. Even if we were back in our time, they wouldn't trust us to know anything about running a government."

"Being underestimated can be a good thing."

"I agree, but not now. Not here." Harry pulled Hermione into a hug, rubbing her back. "No more trying to become Minister, okay?

Her shoulders sagged; Luna did feel for her, but this was for the best. "At least not until we're up to where we left," Luna chimed in. "And maybe we'll start aging again then."

Harry groaned. "Oh please, no. I don't really want to go through teenage hormones again."

Hermione snorted and pushed at Harry's chest. "Let go of me, you beast." She brushed a hand down her shirt, smoothing out any wrinkles Harry caused with his hug. "I'll make you two a deal."

"That seems fair enough depending on what it is."

"Thank you, Luna." Hermione took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before she spoke. "We try –just try- to get jobs in the ministry while they're getting together. I still want to help them."

"Not the Minister?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, not the Minister. I was thinking secretaries or something."

"I wouldn't mind that." Luna slid off the desk. "And if we do this…?"

"If we do this and stay for a few years, then we can go to those Buddhist temples for a while."

Harry grinned. "Oh, I've been waiting to go there. You have a deal."

"Really?" Hermione stared at him, her confused look more than a little adorable to Luna. "I thought that would be harder."

Harry shook his head and went to the door. "I've been trying to get you to go there for years. I'm not about to question a gift."

"Right, okay." Hermione held a hand out to Luna. "Shall we go help the silly Ministry?"

Luna took the hand and squeezed. "One step closer to China. _Finally_."


	4. Chapter 4

Not wanting to cause any unnecessary confusion, the three didn't return to England for over a hundred years. When the time came, Luna didn't tell either one of them where she was going when she left that morning, but she was sure they would figure it out easily enough. Today was the day, it was the exact night, they had disappeared. She let out a shaky breath as she looked over the Hall of Prophecies. Soon she would see three of her friends that she hadn't seen in a very long time. She hoped they hadn't accidentally passed them by, but something told Luna not to worry. They would find each other someday.

"I thought you would be here." Harry materialized beside her, his clothing the only noise as he sat. "Hermione won't think this was smart and she won't like that we did this without her."

"We're more powerful anyway. There are things she hasn't learned yet."

Harry laughed softly. "And oh how that bothers her. You know, she Apparated seven times yesterday just to see if she could do it quietly?"

"I heard them." Luna brought a knee to her chest. "She's still thinking that it's about _popping_ into a place. She doesn't understand that it's just sliding, instead."

"She'll learn. It took me nearly a hundred years to do it, after all."

"You were always the slow learner," Luna told him with a smile. "You can't help that you have all this magic and no idea how to use it."

Harry nudged her shoulder, laughing softly. "Funny, thanks." He looked at his watch. "We should be arriving at the Ministry about now."

"Give us time. We need to find the way here first."

"Yeah, that." Harry knelt down so he could look across the mass expanse of glowing glass orbs. "I wish we never came here. I mean, not now. Then."

"You would give up the past few thousand years, Harry? Everything you learned?"

"Yes," Harry said as the door opened and six very-familiar-looking teenagers walked in. "I would give up everything to have all of us together again."

Luna doubted Harry would have stayed close to all of them, but she chose not to voice that. Below them, a farmore inexperienced Harry ran through the shelves, looking for where Voldemort held Sirius Black hostage. A set-up that, if she wanted to admit it to herself, Luna should have seen coming. Her father had told her all sorts of stories about Voldemort manipulating people's emotions so they would do as he pleased. Why would Harry have been any different?

"Come on," Harry said, standing just as his other self reached the proper area. "We won't see anything else here. Let's find that damned room."

He remembered more about what happened than she did. He remembered sand digging its way into any hole it could find on his body before simply bursting. There hadn't been much pain, but he felt every bump on the road to the past. The sand seemed to muddle with his mind and body, creating what he became.

Luna knew watching that happen all over again was not going to be pleasant; she was glad Harry went after her to this place if only for moral support.

They settled into the Time Room and Luna gazed at the Bell Jar sitting in the center. Around them, the clocks ticked away the time and she settled herself against Harry's side. It was comfortable and, for a moment, she let herself forget why they were here. Harry's body was warm and comforting, a strong presence in this now-strange world.

"This is going to be strange," she said awhile after their counterparts left for the first time. They would be back, she knew, and she didn't want them to. It would be so easy to jump down and stop them, but Luna didn't remember seeing herself here. They had to stay silent.

"Probably," Harry agreed with her. "At least we can tell the others what happened. I'm sure, wherever they are, they're confused."

"Just like we were." Luna closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath. "Can you feel it?"

"The battle? Not yet. I feel my own anxiety, though. We probably just found the prophecy."

"That damned thing."

Harry laughed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Yeah, that damned thing."

He tensed suddenly and Luna knew it was close to time. "Can you see what's going on?"

"No, and I really don't want to. I can feel it, though. Panic and worry all rolled into one, even when I'm experiencing it second-hand. Even more because I can't _do_ anything about it." Harry stood and Luna almost whimpered at the loss of his warmth. "It feels like it took us forever to get back here, but I'm sure it won't be long now."

"I wouldn't mind watching that man run around with a baby's head again." Luna grinned, standing so she could lace their fingers together. "If he went with us…"

"He'd be experimented on wherever he was. We don't need to worry about him."

"Harry—"

"We don't need to worry about him." Harry lifted her hand, kissing her fingers. "We have enough to worry about. And if he does show up, I'll kill him myself."

Luna hesitated a moment before nodding. "If Ron were here, he might ask if that could be considered killing a child or an adult."

Harry laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the room. "That'd be Ron, yeah." He stopped abruptly then and pulled Luna closer. "Here we come."

Luna could hear the voices, feel her own magic, and knew he was telling the truth. They stood silent for a while before the door burst open and seven people tumbled inside. Six against one wasn't the best odds, but the battle went just as she remembered. Curses flew between them, people were knocked around, and then the stupid man simply tripped back, falling into the Bell Jar.

Her younger self didn't laugh, but Luna had to fight to hold back her amusement at the man screaming. Served him right, really. Her younger self was horrified, but Luna had lived long enough to know that Karma did exist to an extent. The man got what was coming to him.

He finally pulled out of the Jar and that's when things went crazy. He flailed around and all six of the younger wizards jumped back. Neville slammed into the shelves of Time Turners, all of them smashing around him. Ginny tripped directly into the Bell Jar, knocking it over so it and the sand from the Time Turners seemed to mold together.

Neville was wrapped in the sand first, his face full of open terror as he tried to struggle away. Ron ran toward him and tripped on a piece of a broken necklace. He fell right into the spot that used to hold Neville. In an instant, he was gone as well. Hermione screamed as the sand tracked up her legs, reaching out toward Harry. Harry, who could do nothing but struggle as the sand engulfed him.

Luna forced herself to look to where her other self stood, seemingly just standing there and accepting things. Her younger self closed her eyes as the sand, rather than swallowing her whole, almost caressed her. Luna gripped Harry's hand tighter, biting down on her lip. She looked then toward Ginny. The poor girl had tried to run away. The Death Eater was already gone and panic was clearly over Ginny's face as she screamed, the sand finally catching up to her. Then, she looked up, right at them. Luna stared straight into the eyes of Ginny Weasley before the girl disappeared, the explosion of dust and glitter the only thing left in her wake.

The Death Eaters arrived just as the air settled and the room fell dark once again. They looked around in confusion before disappearing down the hallway, yelling orders as they ran. One of them clearly shouted that the Ministry workers had arrived, then the hall went quiet.

"Well," Harry said, his hand squeezing hers tightly, "that wasn't what I expected."

It hit her then, something that she should have realized back in the 1200's when she first found Harry. "Harry… Voldemort is still alive. If you aren't there, who's going to stop him?"

triotriotrio

"Absolutely not!" Hermione pulled laundry off a line outside of their home in New Mexico. "It was dangerous enough going to England to see what happened, but now to return until Voldemort's gone? That's stupid." She roughly tossed a towel on top of the basket before lifting it. "What if the war goes on for years? Someone is going to notice that we're not aging. Not to mention we'll be missing three people."

"You know Luna and I are good at illusions. We'll just—"

"That's stupid and insane." Hermione marched into the small house the three of them shared. They were near a local college, so nobody questioned the three of them living together. "You can't simply conjure up our friends and go on as normal."

Harry followed her inside, Luna trailing a bit behind them. "So you're just going to let Voldemort take over Britain while you sit here and do laundry?"

"Of course not." Hermione dropped the basket by the couch. "We're going to kill Voldemort before he has a chance to truly take over. We'll make excuses for the other three."

"We could just say they died," Luna said softly, already knowing what both would say to that.

"No," Harry said, his voice firm. "We are not going to kill them off just to make things easier on ourselevs. Mrs. Weasley would be devastated that she lost Ginny _and_ Ron in one go."

Hermione had been staring at Luna since the suggestion and Luna could just about see the wheels turning in her head. This is why she liked Hermione sometimes. The girl could think through what might seem to be a strange idea and see the merit behind it.

"It might work. No, Harry, wait. Mrs. Weasley is going to lose them either way. If you do conjure them up, you can't just keep it going after the war. It would take too much from you." Hermione smiled a little sadly. "Unless we find them soon, she'll lose them anyway. Especially if we still don't age and need to leave."

Harry scowled at both of them. "We are not letting them just die. Look, I consented on the not seeing my parents or being near England when they were alive, but I won't budge on this. You both owe me for missing out on what you had."

Luna would not bow her head in shame like Hermione did. They had done the right thing, no matter what Harry thought. "Okay, then. We'll work on how to do that before going back to England. Hermione? Think of a reason why we haven't been there since the Department of Mysteries. I'm sure they're all out looking for us by now."

"I'm on it." Hermione smiled softly. "And we'll fine-tune the idea on the way back."

"You can help her with it, Luna. I think I can handle our friends."

Luna opened her mouth to argue with Harry on that, but stopped before she could say anything. She had long gotten too used to the swirl of magic around Harry to bother looking at it closely. It was thicker than when she first saw it; a shiver ran down her back at the acknowledgement of his sheer power. There was no question that he could handle this on his own, just as he said he could.

"I trust you," she said before joining Hermione near the bookshelves.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Hermione asked. "What if he wears himself thin?"

"He's more powerful than you think." Luna settled on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. "Do you think…"

"Hm?" Hermione pulled down a muggle novel.

"It's silly, but do you think _this_ is the power the prophecy spoke of? What the 'Dark Lord knows not'?"

Hermione glanced over just as Harry managed to produce a rough form of Ginny. "Possibly, I suppose. Magic works in weird ways."

Luna smiled, watching as Harry ran his fingers across the image's cheek. She knew Harry would perfect them, but it was nice to know that the most powerful wizard alive still had trouble getting things right the first time. To Luna, it made him more human than anything else he did.

triotriotrio

After three hundred years together Luna was still amused when she and Harry could surprise Hermione at their display of magic. The girl had had wanted to study them whenever they used a large amount of magic and, after the Wizarding world disappeared from the Muggles, Harry had let her study him when she wished. Luna had yet to give her permission.

Now, as they walked through Diagon Alley, Luna wondered if Hermione would ever get tired of examining them. Witches and wizards walked around them, completely ignoring the trio as if they weren't there. The charm had been developed over the past century and Harry practiced it whenever they interacted with large crowds. It had been perfected shortly after they left England.

They stepped into Ollivander's and studied the shelves as he took care of the excited girl standing there, a new wand clutched in her hand. Hermione leaned close, rattling off what wood it was as well as the length. Luna smiled and offered the core while Harry simply laughed at both of them.

Once the girl and her family left, Harry dropped the charm and stepped from the shadows. "Good morning, Ollivander."

The only hint that Ollivander hadn't expected them was the slight tensing of his shoulders. Luna could see the paranoia in his stance before he turned to see them. "Ah, Harry—"

"Yes, yes, I know. I apologize for being rude, but we're in a bit of a hurry." Harry motioned toward Luna. "She and I would like to get a back-up wand. Just in case."

Ollivander smiled, stepping close to them. "Mister Potter, when have you ever needed to lie to me?"

"Sir?"

"He knows we lost ours," Luna said, her voice soft as her mind read the old man's thoughts. She hadn't meant to, it just happened. "He doesn't know how, but he knows we did."

Ollivander grabbed two boxes, handing one to both Harry and Luna. "I'm sure that is your secret, so I won't ask. Try these out."

There was a gleeful part of testing out a new wand. Luna was sure it didn't matter what wand she and Harry had anymore, but she longed for the familiar warmth that spread through her fingers.

Just like the last time, Luna's third wand came out as a match. She paid while Harry attempted his fifth, and then went to sit next to a bored-looking Hermione. The girl still had hers, at least.

"I'm not sure another wand will be like his first," Hermione said as the ninth wand exploded a shelf. "Especially since it had a connection with Voldemort."

"I'm sure there's one in here somewhere."

"I hope so. I'd rather not be here all day. I thought it was hard enough to stand there and try out dozens of wands, but it's much harder for those watching."

Luna smiled, glancing to where Hermione had hidden her wand. "How many did you go through?"

"Thirty-four. Ollivander said—"

"I said that your magic was particular, but strong." The man offered them a tray of tea. Both declined. "I had to dig into my back stores to find yours, Miss Granger."

Hermione's cheek tinted red and she tilted her chin up. "Yes, well, that's just who I am."

Ollivander laughed before handing Harry yet another wand.

They weren't able to leave for a few hours. It wasn't until Harry opened his fifty-eighth box that he had enough and just asked Ollivander for a wand that had yet to be fused with a core. It took a small demonstration of his abilities for the old wandmaker to give in, but he eventually sold Harry a holly wand that looked almost identical to his last.

"I don't want to ever go through that again," Harry said as they left the shop. With a wave of his hand, they once again passed unnoticed in the crowd. "After we take care of this, we're going to find a way to make our own wands."

"Without cores?" Hermione asked, a small frown on her face.

"Without cores," Harry agreed. "It's just going to mess us up."

Hermione sighed. "I think you're jumping ahead of yourself."

They'd had this conversation plenty of times over the years and Luna smiled at the familiarity of it. "Hermione, I thought we agreed to disagree on this."

"I'm just worried for you guys." Hermione stopped, a hand on Luna's arm to stop her as well. "And why could you find a wand?"

"Because I'm adapting. My magic flows and accepts things more readily than Harry's. His is just stronger."

"Speaking of being stronger…" Harry ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already had been. "I can feel it building and it's gotten a little crazy since Voldemort was born."

"Crazy like you're losing control?"

"Nothing like that yet, 'Mione." Harry sighed. "I don't think I can handle it for much longer, though. At least not all at once." He motioned them into the Leaky Cauldron and then upstairs to an empty room.

Luna settled herself on the bed. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, making the others appear helps it, but I think I need a regular outlet for my magic." Harry sat next to her before pulling Hermione down on his other side. "I want to share it."

"What do you mean by 'share it'?" Hermione got more comfortable so she could look across to both of them. "Harry?"

"I mean trickle it down to you—"

"No." Luna shook her head. She should have seen this coming. "That will just weaken you."

"Not if I'm careful."

"And if you're not?" Luna looked to Hermione. "Besides, Hermione and I have been thinking."

Hermione took Harry's hands gently in hers. "We both remember the prophecy, despite how long it's been since I was down there. Oh, don't look at me like that, I know you two went off to the Ministry that night."

"Women's intuition." Luna smiled and closed her eyes, listening.

"We think we went back in time for a reason. Or, at least you did. Look how strong you are now compared to the last time we were here."

"But Hermione—"

"No buts, Harry. We'll help you through this, but you can't just give us your magic. Keep it."

Harry let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll keep it. But, if we do kill this bastard and I'm still having trouble, I am going to do it."

Luna could practically see the smile on Hermione's face. This had been easier than they thought. "Of course, Harry. Let's get rid of Voldemort, first."

triotriotrio

They hung the list in their tent, after they had made sure they had written seven items and their locations on it. First, Tom Riddle's diary, destroyed in Harry's second year. Second, a ring Harry pulled right from Dumbledore's finger the night they went to question him. Luna placed it on the same necklace that held the third item, a now cracked locket with an intricate 'S' on it. Harry wore both, shrugging and saying that it just felt right.

The fourth item sat next to the fire, waiting to be melted down as soon as they got to a place secure enough to burn it. Once that was done, they would be headed to Hogwarts again to find the Diadem hidden somewhere on the grounds.

"Tom Riddle was a bit of an idiot," Hermione said one night. "Why would he hide his soul in items that can be linked to him? And in places where people would know to look if they did a bit of research?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Harry placed a chipped cup of tea next to her. "So what room in Hogwarts was he most connected to? Except the Slytherin dorms, because that's just too obvious."

"But we can't just ignore them." Hermione wrapped her hands around the steaming mug. "You're right, though. We need to look some place that's a little more tucked away."

"What about the Room of Requirement?" Luna didn't bother looking up from her own book, which was completely unrelated to Voldemort or the Horcruxes. "We used it before to train in, so why not use it as a room to hide things?"

"We'll look there first." Hermione smiled softly. "Thank you, Luna."

"You would have thought of it soon enough." She put her book to the side. "You always do."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, do I need to go for a while to let you guys have some alone time?"

Hermione laughed, tossing a blank piece of parchment at him. "No. And just because you and I didn't work out doesn't mean you can tease us out of jealousy."

"Please, I'm not jealous. And we didn't work out because you're more like a sister to me." Harry got up and gave each girl a kiss on their cheeks. "I'm going to walk anyway. This tent is starting to drive me insane. You two have fun."

Despite their newly-formed romantic relationship, Hermione and Luna abstained from any kind of 'fun' while Harry was so close by. Both felt guilty, Luna figured she more so than Hermione. After all, she and Harry had shared a bed for nearly three-hundred years.

Her affair with Hermione started shortly after their trip to Diagon Ally. Harry claimed that he needed to speak to Dumbledore alone, leaving the two girls in the small room above the Leaky Cauldron for nearly four days. By the time Harry returned, Luna and Hermione had gotten used to sleeping curled in each other's arms. Much to Luna's disappointment, they hadn't gotten any further than hurried snogging while Harry was out of the room.

Harry had refused to tell them how he had come by it, but the information he brought back with him about the Horcruxes pushed them to act immediately. It negated the need for Harry to create three fully-functioning figures, but he never stopped practicing with them.

"Just in case," he said one morning as he made Neville and Ginny dance together. "I don't want to have to suddenly create them and not be able to."

If Luna were honest, she would have to admit that the Ginny she found herself talking to the next morning was as close to the real thing as they could get. Harry had been proud of himself and boasted for days.

There were other problems, too. Harry's magic exploded one morning, almost burning their tent to the ground with the intensity. Hermione saved everything with her quick thinking and used a spell that dampened the magic of everything in the tent; she left it up overnight just as a precaution. That precaution turned out to be their saving grace, as Harry told them the next morning about a late-night vision: Voldemort, seeking him out, tracing his power. Just to be safe, they took a small break from their hunting to perfect the damper around them. Together, Luna and Hermione finally managed to seal it to Harry's skin, including a spell that would remove the seal as soon as Voldemort was dead.

They were just a day's trip from the school. If she squinted, Luna could see the topmost tower on the horizon. According to Harry's visions, Voldemort knew they were at least heading toward Hogwarts. Death Eaters were already showing up around the school, preparing for battle. One way or another, Luna knew that it would end within the next few days. Harry was more than ready to face the monster and, after this, they could finally live their life how they wanted. There would be no more time interferences to keep them away.

She looked toward Hermione and smiled. Hermione returned it with a shaky one, but Luna could see the hope coursing through her. They would be okay, she just _knew_ it.


	5. Chapter 5

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore lowered the three resignations letters, frowning. Luna could just about see the gears turning in his mind, trying to think of a way to get the three of them to stay on longer. He probably had thoughts of them growing old within the castle, perhaps even of Harry becoming Headmaster. They had lasted nineteen years with constant aging charms, a creation of Hermione's, but it was time to move on. They had spent too long in one spot and the itch to move was getting to them, Luna and Harry especially.

"Are you sure this is what the three of you want to do?" the old man asked, his brow creasing. "You've been three of my best Professors on staff."

"We're positive, sir." Hermione offered a smile and immediately told him the lie they had started right after the war ended. "We haven't seen our friends since they left and it's quite difficult to get out there, but it's time."

This was true, in a way. So far as the entire wizarding world was concerned, Neville had been invited to an exclusive Herbology retreat somewhere in India. It was hard to get to, difficult to communicate with, and it was an honor: the retreat only invited one wizard every ten years. Nobody questioned it when Neville took his fiancé, Ginny Weasley, with him. Molly cried over her 'daughter' and it had taken all of Harry's concentration to keep her looking and feeling real.

Ron had been the only illusion left and, despite the fact that Harry had perfected him during the war, his image had been flickering in and out for a few days. Harry said a quick apology to his friend before letting the image fade away, announcing the next day that Ron had decided to go with his sister and Neville as extra protection. Luna added that the war changed him and he needed a change of scenery; nobody questioned what happened with Ron after that.

For months, Hermione insisted that it had all been too easy and someone was going to dig deeper. Two years after the war, when Hogwarts was officially constructed, people seemed to forget about the other three. Their figureheads continued to be Luna, Harry, and Hermione, despite each of them trying to stay out of the media as much as possible. Dumbledore offered them each a teaching position and the sanctuary of Hogwarts after a 'special edition' paper featuring any information that could be found on them came out. Hermione still had reservations, but agreed that it would be best for the moment.

"I would like to tell you that your resignations have been denied, but I could never say that to the three of you." Dumbledore waved his wand over the parchment, his signature appearing at the bottom of each as he did so. "If you ever wish to return, Hogwarts will always be open to you."

Luna smiled, knowing that Hogwarts had accepted her long before She was even built by the founders. The magic she remembered from those years still seeped in the ground, warming her with every step she took. "We appreciate this, sir. Thank you."

They shook hands, said one last goodbye, and left the office. Once they were down the staircase, Harry shoved his hands into his pockets and let out a long sigh. Luna had hoped he wouldn't brood too much about leaving, but Hogwarts had always been home, especially to Harry. There was no way around the brooding, sometimes.

"So, that's done," he said. "Where exactly are we going now?"

"Last night, Luna and I debated over various countries and, after many hours, we finally came to a conclusion."

Harry glanced back to Hermione. "Hm, sure. What's that?"

Hermione had long ago stopped blushing when Harry tried to tease her about her relationship with Luna, but she stuck her tongue out anyway. Luna laughed a little, glad that nothing had really changed with them despite the years.

"It's easy, Harry. Luna spun a globe and I pointed to a country."

Harry laughed. "Oh Merlin. Okay, where are we going? A deserted island in the Atlantic Ocean?"

She did blush this time. It hadn't really been her fault that her first three tries landed on a body of water, but Luna wasn't going to take the blame either. "We didn't think you'd enjoy it."

"Exactly, yes." Hermione cleared her throat. "We're going to Norway."

"Norway? Isn't that a little… close?"

"Norway is just where we're starting. Besides, I've always wanted to visit." Hermione opened the door to the room the three of them shared. It had originally been Luna's, but the others eventually gravitated to live with her. "Maybe we'll go to the States again."

"They're a little obsessed about celebrities right now." Harry waved his hand around the room. Without much other movement, their belongings began to pack themselves away. "Norway is fine. It'll be another place to cross off at least."

"Nobody keeps up that list except you," Hermione said, a smile across her face. "I still can't believe you two went to Fiji before you found me."

"It was a short and worthless trip." Luna pulled Hermione into a short kiss. "You didn't miss much," she said once it broke.

"Okay, enough of the display. Luna, can you get us out of here?"

Luna kept her arm around Hermione's waist. "Do you have all of our things?" she asked, though she knew she didn't need to. Harry's magic would have kept anything they really wanted. "Hang onto me, then."

She closed her eyes and greeted the magic of Hogwarts. Once the warmth of Her wards wrapped around them, Luna asked for permission to Apparate out. Hogwarts consented and the three disappeared.

Honing their Apparation skills had not been easy, especially for Harry. Once Hermione got past the noise issue, she had mastered the rest with relative ease. While most wizards needed to know where they were going, Hermione found that they just simply needed coordinates in order to arrive safely. It made travel easier, especially when it was somewhere they didn't know.

They didn't always land in friendly territory and while this didn't feel like one of those times, Luna could tell something was off about it. The Humdings disappeared faster than normal, as if they were scared to stay. Slowly, she opened her eyes and then frowned at the sight.

"Where are we?" Harry asked, letting go of Luna. "This looks like Hogsmeade before we fixed it up."

"There's no Hogwarts, though." Hermione clutched at Luna's hand. "Let's take a look around. Maybe whatever happened was recent and there are survivors."

Harry knelt down and brushed his hand over a red stain on the street. "No, I don't think this is recent. Let's look around anyway."

Luna let the two of them explore in front of her. Something nagged at the back of her mind, telling her that there was something here that they needed, something important. She turned around, glancing over the decaying buildings. What looked to be an Owl Post station had vines crawling up the side of the wall. She ran her fingers over the blooming flowers on it. A spark coursed through her system and she smiled.

She quickly sent her Patronus to find the other two with her message. She stepped inside even before it jumped out of her vision and she followed the trail of vines up the stairs. They disappeared under a warded door and she laughed to herself. Unable to hold back, she waved back the wards and opened the door.

"Hello, Neville."

Neville Longbottom stared up at her from his defensive position on the floor near the window. The shock on his face had Luna laughing again and she practically skipped into the room. They had found another, and now they simply had to wait to find the two stray Weasleys.

"Is it really you?" Neville asked, getting up.

Luna pulled him into her arms, feeling tears prick at her eyes. "Yes, Neville, it's really me. I'm so glad we found you."

"We?"

"Harry and Hermione are coming." Luna pulled back. "We have a lot to tell you."

Harry slammed open the door then and grinned when he saw Neville. "Oh, thank Merlin. I thought you'd be Ginny and then I'd have to be surrounded by three women for the next few hundred years or so."

Luna laughed as Hermione smacked Harry across the head, a surprised Neville watching them.

nevillenevilleneville

Luna hadn't realized how more patient they had become until Neville was back. While the three of them were used to doing things as they wanted, when they wanted, Neville had some kind of need to constantly get things done quickly. He pulled the story of what happened out of them and Luna could see the irritation over the fact that it took nearly a week to do that much.

Once it was Neville's turn to tell his tale, he sat them down and finished it over dinner.

Neville had woken up in that house, tucked in the bed with no one else around. The room had obviously held someone before, but they departed quickly. Unsure of what happened, he ventured from his bed to look at his surroundings. He hadn't expected an empty town. Neville had checked every building before giving up and deciding that the world had ended.

Hermione asked whether or not he went further than the town, getting frowns from both Luna and Harry at that. Neville shrugged off the question with, "I was alone, I was scared, and nothing around me was alive. Would you want to go further and risk seeing the whole world like that?" Harry tried to diffuse the situation by offering to tell Neville how they defeated Voldemort, but Neville declined and claimed that he didn't care, "as long as the bastard is dead."

Luna stayed in the town with Neville while the others went to collect food and other supplies. He walked her through the abandoned houses and the small marketplace. If the fields were ready, she could see how this town could have self-sustained itself. Something like this would be useful, possibly a place to call home. She would need to bring it up to the others.

Neville already had an idea of what he wanted to do with the town, though. As they explored abandoned buildings and cleaned up an assortment of dangerous messes, Neville told her his plans. He wanted to tear down most of the buildings and use the materials to build a large, central building with room for any survivors he found. Luna commended his plan, and they both laughed at the needlessness of it now.

Instead, they all decided that they would rebuild the town as best they could. Luna hadn't been the only one to feel a pull in that direction and she appreciated when Harry stood by her and agreed before she could say anything about it. They weren't sure what they would do with their town, but they at least wouldn't completely destroy it.

It took them a good six months to put the entire town to back together. Hermione started a small library in the basement, expanding it when she needed to. Harry teased her constantly about it, but she took it in stride. It was the one thing she had that felt normal and Luna found herself wanting to help, sometimes looking for and bringing back books Hermione didn't have yet.

Years passed before Hermione came running into Luna's room, a thick tomb clutched to her chest. Before Luna could ask what it was, Hermione dropped it on the bed and let the pages open themselves. Luna tried not to smile; she loved it when Hermione used wandless magic without noticing it. Despite not using magic much, she had gotten stronger.

"I know what's been missing. I mean, what's _really_ been missing." She sat down on the other side of the book so she was looking at it upside-down. "Look!"

Luna ran her fingers over the text, recognizing the spells for wards. She furrowed her brow and slowly looked up to the other girl. "Where did you get this?"

"Brazil, but that means nothing. _Look_ , Luna! We can protect this town more than we have been. Specific wards keyed to us. Wards that will push away anyone with qualities that we deem unsafe. This is… this is _ancient_. It's been around longer than you have, but they use it in Brazil."

Luna sat up a little straighter. "How did you get it?" She turned the page to continue reading.

"It's an old, intellectual community of mages. The only ones that could pass were ones with potential for their amount of intelligence."

"And you didn't stay?" Luna looked over Hermione's face, not completely sure why she was here. Hermione had changed, but she was still a bookworm. She still wanted to learn everything. Any secret community with books like these, Luna figured she would want to stay.

"I didn't think of that," Hermione admitted. "I found the book and I thought of you and Harry and Neville. I thought of Ron and Ginny and knew that we could use this. We could track them down."

"Is there a spell for tracking people across time?" Luna closed the book, a feeling in her gut telling her that she already knew the answer. She didn't let Hermione say anything. "We'll find them eventually, but if you wanted to st—"

"My home is here." Hermione reached out as if to touch Luna's hand, but then she jerked back. Luna felt her chest constrict. "My home is here with you guys. With _you_."

Luna couldn't help the blush that stole across her face. "I'm happy to hear that, then."

"You knew that before," Hermione insisted. "We should go find the other two so we can tell them."

"You can tell them. You found the book." Luna leaned over the book to give Hermione a gentle kiss. "And after dinner. Neville burns the cooking when he's distracted."

"Then we should go make sure Harry isn't attached to his neck again." Hermione took Luna's hand and squeezed it gently.

Thankfully, Harry wasn't attached to Neville in any way. Neville was alone in the kitchen while Harry finished a minor repair on one of the town's empty houses. Luna wasn't sure what that repair could be, but she said nothing to it. She could see the slight tension in Neville's shoulders and knew the boys had had some kind of argument.

Hermione, in all of her excitement, couldn't hold anything in. "We can ward the town better. I know how!"

Neville turned away from the chicken he was checking. "Didn't we already ward the town?"

"We did, but this will make it perfect." She leaned against the counter so Neville could still look at the food as she talked.

Luna shook her head and went to find Harry, feeling a bit guilty that she hadn't felt his distress. It had gotten harder to do so, simply because of how powerful he had become, but Luna knew that, on some level, she should still _know_.

She found him on top of what looked like the town's sweets shop. The sign with a cockroach cluster had been the only visible sign when they first arrived. She didn't hesitated before shifting up to sit next to him; if he was bothered by her sudden appearance, he didn't show it. Luna leaned into his shoulder and let out a soft sigh.

"Talk to me," she said after a long moment of silence. "Tell me what happened."

"You don't want to—"

"Please."

Harry sighed and rubbed at his face. "Honestly? I miss you. I miss us."

She had expected something like that. "Does Neville know this?"

"Why do you think we have so many fights?" Harry leaned back, resting his hands behind him and dislodging Luna from his shoulder. She rested her head in his lap instead. "Nev and I understood when we got together that it wasn't going to be anything more than convenient. He's still scared we're the last people alive, and I just want a warm body beside me."

"But you don't really want me, either."

"No, not really."

Luna had known that from the beginning as well. "Do you want me because I'm a girl or because we've been through more together than the rest of them?"

"Still trying to figure that one out." Harry shifted again and a hand was stroking through Luna's hair. "I think it might be the second one, because I don't miss Hermione in that way."

"Neville won't share either."

"No, he won't." Harry's hand stilled. "Not that Hermione shares all that well."

"I'd say a year of having us both is considered well enough."

Harry laughed. "I guess."

Luna grabbed his hand and brought it closer for a gentle kiss to his palm. "We'll be okay."

"Once we find the others."

"No, even before that. We'll be okay." Luna looked up at Harry, unable to stop smiling for him. "We've survived longer than any other humans, haven't we? We've fought wars nobody even knows about now. We're going to live in a future we couldn't imagine while at Hogwarts. We're going to be okay, Harry."

He leaned in, giving her a gentle kiss. "I hope so," he murmured around her lips. "I really hope so."

nevillenevilleneville

Almost three-hundred years of (some kind of) peace settled well with Neville. The gardens in their hidden town flourished under his hand, though he had slowly started to teach the others how to coax the flowers out after Luna managed to destroy an entire acre in less than three days. She hadn't meant to and thankfully Neville understood that not many had a natural affinity for plants the way he did.

Luna thought she had a handle on it, but the ground here simply responded better to Neville than the rest of them combined. She felt embarrassed, mostly because she was the oldest one between them. She should know how to live off the land by now. Neville had given her a much smaller area to work on and, so far, it had been fairing much better. Harry still laughed at her sometimes.

Harry had just made his rounds, double checking their steady wards, once he reached her. "I can smell dinner from here. Come on."

"I hope you added in a ward that stopped others from smelling it." Luna brushed a few bits of dirt from her pants.

"I'm not that stupid." Harry held out his hand. "I'd offer to race home, but I know I'd lose."

Luna grinned and shifted into the dining room, Harry following not a second later. "Too bad. I wouldn't mind a race."

Hermione snorted from her seat at the table. "I swear, if I didn't already know you guys could do that so easily, you would scare me a lot more. Suddenly just _being there_ is a little weird still."

"You're just mad because you still make noise," Harry said, his voice teasing. "You're almost there."

"Maybe." Hermione shrugged. "I'm just glad that there isn't a way to teach everybody else how to do that."

"Only a matter of time." Harry pulled out a seat for Luna. "I'm going to check on Nev and see if he wants help."

Luna waited until Harry walked through the door before looking to Hermione. "You are close. I can—"

"Don't tell me you can feel it." Hermione dropped her head onto the table. "What happens when your magic runs out? What happens—"

"Relax." Luna put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, missing when they were closer. "We'll be okay. Neville already has a few wandless spells down."

"I'm just afraid."

Luna pressed a kiss to Hermione's head, closing her eyes as she did so. She had tried for many years to convince Hermione otherwise, but the girl still believed that their magic would die on them. Luna couldn't even explain how she knew that wasn't sure, she just did.

"Sit up, the boys are coming back."

She made a face, pushing hair out of her face. "And we both know how much Harry worries."

Luna laughed as the boys stepped into the room. Neville set a plate down in front of Luna before arching an eyebrow. Luna returned the look with a smile and didn't offer anything other than that. Harry, however, never seemed to learn.

"What were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing," Hermione insisted, pulling her plate out of Harry's hands. "Let's eat, I'm hungry."

Harry looked to Luna. "Magic again?" He winced when Hermione smacked his shoulder. "What! You always get like this after someone brings it up."

"Wait, is this the idea that magic is going to die?" Neville asked. "Sorry, I heard you guys mention it once."

Hermione sighed. "Yes, it's that idea. I just can't get it out of my head."

Neville shrugged. "I say don't worry about it. If magic dies, it dies. Either way, we probably aren't alive."

Luna looked toward Neville, her chest tightening. "What do you mean?"

Neville seemed not to notice the looks he was suddenly getting as he continued. "I mean, we're living and not aging. Who says we aren't dead and just in the afterlife? Since none of us want to believe we're dead, we created our own or something. Our own personal version of Hell…"

"Who says it isn't Heaven?"

Neville snorted. "Please, Hermione. If this was Heaven, why would we have to fight off rogue dragons?"

No sooner than he said it, a cat Patronus ran into the kitchen and jumped up onto Harry's lap. Luna and Hermione didn't bother waiting for the message before they were up and preparing to leave. Neville took care of the food.

"What did it say?" Luna asked once she strapped on her bag.

"A Horntail got loose in the South African Reserve. We have about half an hour before it causes too much damage for us to explain." Harry accepted the bag Hermione handed him. "You know, as much as I like witnessing history, I really wish all this shit would stop happening."

Luna took Neville's hand while Harry took Hermione's. "Come on, at least this makes life interesting." She winked and the four of them disappeared from their home.

"I don't call this interesting," Neville said once they reappeared just out of the danger zone. "I call this stupid and life-threatening."

"Boys." Luna rolled her eyes and started for the mass of yelling wizards.

Thankfully wandless magic was more widely used now, though it was still rare to see someone use it. Harry and Luna didn't bother with their fake wands if they were in situations such as this; the piece of wood was more of a hindrance than anything else. Once the first rogue attack happened ten years before, they gave up pretenses and threw themselves into helping the situation in any way they could.

The four stopped at what looked to be base camp before splitting up. Neville would help the injured, Hermione would help with any memory charms needed on Muggles, Harry would fight the beasts off, and Luna would help strengthen any fallen wards. She didn't like being split like they were, but it was where they were most useful. She was just glad Hermione and (finally) Neville could Apparate anywhere they chose and, thus, could get out of the situation if they needed to.

This was their fourth call in a month. Since the mess began, they had been forced to put down over sixty dragons, bringing most of them dangerously close to extinction. Harry hadn't wanted to do that, but even he had to admit that they were getting out of control. He wanted to preserve everything magical, but it had become nearly impossible.

At least the price of dragon ingredients in potions had gone down, making a lot of cures at least temporarily more reasonably priced. Hermione was already looking into things to substitute for when the dragons were wiped out completely.

Luna quickly found the man in charge of the wards. "What happened this time?"

The man eyed her for a moment before he seemed to collapse on himself. "Hell if I know. The wards were checked yesterday and today they simply… fell. There's no explanation for it."

Sabotage, then. Luna supported the groups looking to save animals, but she couldn't understand their way of working anymore. Setting a dragon loose was the last thing anyone needed. "The story this time for Muggles?"

"Well, North and South Africa _are_ at war…"

It had always been the easiest answer. Luna frowned. "Fine. Let's get these wards back up and settled in. If they can control the Horntail and get it back into the pen, everything will be fine."

The man raised his wand, Luna raised her hand, and they got to work.


	6. Chapter 6

"Is it just me, or is this all very familiar?" Harry asked, settling on the couch between Luna and Hermione. He tossed down the morning paper, though Luna was surprised there was even a delivery, considering the times now. Despite the year being well past 2400, she knew exactly what Harry was talking about.

"It's going to be worse than last time," she said quietly, looking toward the large window Harry put in for her. She liked watching as Neville plants curled around each other in the garden. "I suppose you have an idea?"

"Besides getting everyone to safety? No." He let out a long sigh. "Were you there when it started last time, Hermione? Or did you come in after things were set up for rescue missions?"

"After," Hermione told him, not bothering to look up from her book. Her oldest copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ would always be her favorite, though Luna didn't really know why. "All it takes is one person, Harry. You know we'd do anything for you."

"That's only because you guys have nothing better to do."

Harry jerked against her and Luna grinned, knowing Hermione had kicked him for that comment.

"I mean," Harry continued, "that there's nothing to do here. I like that we built this place for us, but now what? Are we going to keep it to ourselves?"

Hermione snapped her book closed. "Harry Potter, you listen close. I know you've been fixing up all the buildings around here and it's not just because you're _bored_. If you want to go rescue people, all you had to do was ask."

"Neville will help," Luna added, offering Harry a smile. "He's getting a little antsy here, so take him for the first run. Hermione and I will prepare things here."

"You sure?"

"If you ask one more time, Luna and I will just go ourselves and have all the fun." Hermione leaned over Harry to catch her eyes. "Isn't that right?"

"Of course." Luna stood and offered a hand to Hermione. "Shall we? You didn't get to break us out of that cell the first time, so this should be fun…"

"Wait, okay!" Harry stood up, breaking them apart. "I'll go get Neville and we'll go. I trust you guys to take care of yourselves, but…"

"Chivalry isn't dead yet." Luna pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek. "Go, then."

She waited until Harry left before looking to Hermione. She looked worried, and Luna was sure that she most likely looked the same. The last time this happened, she and Harry had been thrown into a cell with an order to be executed in the morning. Luna felt horrible that she had already forgotten the names of their rescuers.

"Do you think it will be as bad as last time?" Hermione asked, picking up the paper.

Luna stared at the front headline ( _Wizards Still Disappearing_ ). "I don't know. Last time, we weren't such a secret and we had the ability to hide. Now? Well, now the Muggles are realizing that we've been here for a long time and they don't like it."

"That still doesn't explain how the wards all fell at once." Hermione sat down, turning a page. Luna tried not to smile at her dedication to finding information. "I'm just glad the ones around here didn't fall."

"That's because we maintain the ones around here. I don't think the wizarding world really updated theirs since we helped put them up."

"Well, that's stupid." Hermione closed the paper and tossed it onto the table. "Why didn't we notice this before?"

"Because we've been ignoring the world ever since we got here." Luna sighed and sat down. "If it weren't for the papers, I probably wouldn't know what day it was." She glanced down at the paper, eyes focusing on the date there. July 14, 2482 – Harry and Neville's birthday was coming up soon. "We should have paid more attention."

"We can start now. I'll subscribe to a few more papers, Muggle ones mostly, so we won't be left in the dark again." Hermione hesitated. "As soon as I figure out a way for them to be delivered without being found out. Damn."

"We'll figure it out." Luna reached over to take Hermione's hand, trying to send her comfort through the contact. Once she saw Hermione relax, she smiled and pulled them both to stand. "Come on, now. We have a lot to do before the boys come back. Who knows how many they'll find."

Hermione nodded and squeezed Luna's hand once before letting go. "Let's start with the East side. Neville did say it felt more peaceful over there."

Trying not to feel too disappointed by their sudden lack of contact, Luna simply followed Hermione out of the house. They had enough to do without her pushing anything between them.

Sure, she and Hermione had once been inseparable. Harry and Neville had called it disgustingly sweet and, for the first time in her long life, Luna had felt content. As Neville grew into his powers, Hermione slowly drifted away from her and closer to him. It had been nearly fifty years before Luna knew that Hermione needed to let go and explore the feelings she had for Neville and she didn't dare begrudge the girl what she wanted.

Luna was, without a doubt, completely in love with Hermione Granger.

Harry had silently pulled her together once Hermione and Neville began a courting process. That had been slow, agonizing to watch, but Luna let Harry help her forget. After all, Harry had been her first and, with that, came a connection neither really knew how to break. He had just always seemed to know just when she needed a shoulder, or at least an outlet for her emotions.

Hermione and Neville's relationship worked for about thirty years before both realized that things between them had gotten awkward. Hermione wanted children, something that time seemed unable to give them. Luna had _Known_ this, though she had no idea how or why. It was just something that fluttered across her mind that she knew was a fact.

Just like she knew that the first wave of witches and wizards that came to them would be mostly terrified, each of them scared that this town would just be another place to rest before the Muggles surrounded it.

Neville brought the first group through and Luna said nothing. She simply handed him several pre-made Portkeys and gave him a small nod. Neville said his thanks and he was gone again, leaving the girls to settle the people.

Several of them ignored the panic and helped Hermione and Luna settle everyone into a house, sometimes putting two or three families into a home built for one. Nobody complained, because nobody knew just how bad it was out in the world just yet.

The days seemed to drag on. Harry and Neville would return to rest before diving back into their searches. Each time they went out, they came back with fewer and fewer people. By the time they were only finding one or two at a time, the refugees had managed to settle the town themselves. Only half of the homes were taken up by families, but still people refused to occupy them. There was always a chance of another large group being found.

As the month ended, Luna forced Harry and Neville to stay behind while the refugees went out to find others. The boys were exhausted and, if they kept up, she was sure they would be ill. She doubted that would do much to help the others and, thankfully, they agreed.

It hadn't made the situation any easier when they found out that one of their refugees had escaped from a military facility that had conducted experiments on any witches or wizards they found. Harry told Luna that he thought she had been a squib when they found her, but the girl simply shook her head and said she used to teach at Hogwarts and had been months away from being a Charms Master.

Luna felt her heart break and she settled with Hermione into their library to try to find a way to track squibs. They hoped that, even after the experiments, they would have some kind of residual magic. It would make life easier, but neither girl expected to find much of anything. When Neville wasn't helping in the gardens, he sat right next to them, helping them look for anything that might help.

After two weeks of no progress in their research, Luna was about to bang her head on the table out of frustration. Inventing a spell would be difficult, but it seemed to be the only option. She was about to suggest this to Neville and Hermione when the library doors burst open and Harry ran in.

"Guys! We know where they're holding a lot of witches and wizards!" He pressed his hands to the table, his frustrated magic denting it just slightly. "Collins came back with a little girl who cried about how they had taken her family. The bastards had her for a while, but she escaped just outside the facility."

Neville stood. "Someone can track that?"

"I already did." Harry grinned and Luna felt a shiver run down her back. She knew that grin and it usually promised pain of some kind. "We have a group of us already planning on going, but I figured I'd extend the invitation to you three."

To Luna's surprise, Hermione snapped her thick tomb shut and stood. "I'd be glad to. I need to let off a little steam because trying to figure all of this out is really starting to piss me off."

Neville laughed and leaned over to close the rest of the books. "Count me in. I always wanted to see Hermione Granger get pissed off."

"You'll see plenty of that once we get to that facility. Luna, are you in?"

Luna simply smiled and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. Harry grinned at that and pulled the two girls against him.

"Let's go get the bastards, then."

The group that had elected to go with Harry looked murderous, all of them holding their wands in a tight, white-knuckled grip. For once, Luna had no problem letting them do as they wished, even if that meant eliminating the men they came across. The Muggles were trying to kill them, even if their methods still left them breathing. That would not do, not when they had fought so hard to stay alive.

It didn't take long for Harry to map out a plan of attack. In no time at all, they were all touching Portkeys and transported just inside the facilities walls. Nobody questioned how, though Luna was sure none of them cared at this point. They were here to rescue and that was it.

She and Hermione quickly put up shields to keep the Muggles from seeing them. Harry added to them, protecting all the wizards that came from getting too badly hurt (sadly, magic still couldn't protect against bullets). Neville closed his eyes, one hand on the ground, and covered any in-ground defense systems with tangles of roots. Each of those that came had a pouch full of Portkeys to get the refugees back to the village where Healers were waiting.

They made it past the first three doors before someone tripped and set off base-wide alarms. From there, the groups split up and ran to each do what they came to do. Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Luna took the central hub of the facility since they were the strongest. They were taking control of central command when Luna took a step forward and felt it, a sharp pain lacing through her chest.

She hadn't been hit, but it felt as though a hook had jabbed into her chest. It hadn't been a surprise like Harry. It hadn't been a gentle warmth like Hermione. It hadn't even been a shy curiousness from Neville. No, this Call was different, but she knew what it meant.

She turned to Harry. "One of us is here," she told him. "Harry, one of _us_ is in here!"

The color faded from Harry's face. "Who?"

"I don't know." Luna turned and cast a curse at one of the men trying to sneak up on her. "We just need to go now."

Harry nodded and spread his hands out, turning in a circle to cast a room-wide spell that knocked out the rest of them. Luna didn't bother reprimanding him for not using it first; she was already out the door and following the painful tug in her chest.

Beside her, Harry's breath hitched and she knew he felt it as well. Hermione and Neville followed, both silent in their shared confusion.

Luna stopped outside of a nondescript door and looked to Harry, giving him a nod. Harry didn't bother asking if she was sure before blasting the door out of the way. "Ron?" he called into the darkness of the room. "Ginny? Please, tell me one of you is here."

A blond boy stepped out from the shadows, his arms crossing his chest. "Who are you?"

Luna put a hand on Harry's arm, mostly to calm him down. She pull was still there. "We're here to help. We can get you out of here."

The boy snorted. "That's what they said before they took our magic away."

"We're not—"

"They posed as my mother. For people who hate magic, they have powerful sorcerers on their side. Who says you aren't a group of them? Pulled from our memories?"

A voice, an achingly familiar voice, came from the shadows behind the boy. "Relax, Malfoy, I'm pretty sure they didn't come from my memories. After all, my best friend never looked quite this ragged." Ronald Weasley stepped out and into the dim light, watching them with weary eyes. Luna knew that Harry wanted nothing more than to hug him, but she held him back. "Bloody hell, it took you guys long enough. You said you can get us out?"

She let go of him then. Harry let out a choked sob before pulling Ron into a tight hug, the Portkeys clinking together in the pouch on his hip. Luna just smiled and watched as Neville and Hermione handed out the charmed coins for all of those in the room. The six of them, Malfoy included, were the last to leave.

ronronron

Nobody spoke until Harry had Ron (and Malfoy) settled into a room in their house. Luna rested by the window, watching people run through the streets as they prepared supplies for the refugees they managed to bring back. Luna wasn't sure of the numbers yet, but they had found thirty-eight just in the room where Ron was. Thirty-eight people who, right now, looked and felt like ordinary Muggles.

Luna's chest hurt and a dull ache rested in her head, her body tired of trying to search for something, _anything_ , coming from Ron. So far, she could feel nothing and it terrified her.

Neville and Hermione leaned against the door, an added protection in case someone managed to get into their house and up the stairs. It would be impossible, but there was always a chance. Now that they had another friend with them, Luna knew that Hermione and Neville would take no chance of Ron being taken away again.

Harry waited until Ron and Malfoy were settled into the large bed in the room before he asked what happened. Luna turned to see the spark of pain flash by Ron's eyes and, from the way Harry stiffened, she knew he had seen it, too.

"Can I ask a few things first?" Ron asked, his voice quiet in the room. When Harry simply nodded, Ron let out a breath and fisted the sheets. "What year is it?"

"He doesn't believe me," Malfoy said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told him, but he thinks I'm lying."

Harry's hand twitched toward Ron's own and Luna reached out, soothing Harry's emotions as best she could. Ron wouldn't understand what happened to them right now. Ron wouldn't understand that Harry needed a reassuring touch.

Neville left Hermione by the door so he could lay a hand on Harry's shoulder. Luna smiled her thanks to him and Neville's hand tightened in response.

"You can believe him," Hermione said by the door. "Unless he told you something stupid."

Malfoy huffed. "He told me all about my ancestors the day we met. I'm _nothing_ like that pile of scum."

"We know." Harry gave Malfoy a nod. "We watched your great-grandfather rip apart your family fortune so he could give the Malfoy family a good name."

"And he married a Weasley to do it," Neville said, amused. "Didn't we go to that wedding?"

Ron's horrified look was possibly the only reason none of them continued with that particular conversation. The wedding had been interesting and had changed a lot in the world of wizarding politics. A Malfoy had been in office up until fifty years before, when a Gordon stepped in and turned the world upside-down. Marcus Gordon had been the first wizard terminated when the Muggles started hunting them down again.

Luna frowned to herself. Had that really only been five years ago?

"Ron," Harry said after a long moment, "why don't you tell us what happened after the Department of Mysteries."

"Right, that." Ron rubbed at his chest, frowning. "I remember a lot of pain and falling. The next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a forest and Malfoy here is shaking my arm telling me to get up. I thought he was Draco, so I shook him off."

"Draco was my father," Malfoy cut in. "I'm Ophiuchus Sirius Malfoy."

"The serpent bearer," Luna murmured. "Interesting.

"What is up with Purebloods and astronomy?" Harry asked him.

He shrugged, picking at the bedsheets. "I don't know, but I swore I'd name my son something easy… like Robert or Jonathan."

"Is there a nickname you go by?" Neville asked. "Sorry, but your name is kind of a mouthful."

"My father called me Siri-"

"We'll call you Malfoy for now," Harry insisted, cutting off the name.

Malfoy studied him for a long time before his eyes flickered to Harry's forehead. The move startled the four oldest in the room; nobody had done that since before Voldemort's end.

"You must be Harry," Malfoy said. "Ron told me about a man named Sirius. What happened to him?"

Harry looked to Ron and shook his head. "We'll talk about that later. What happened after Malfoy told you to get up?"

"We argued long enough for the Muggles to grab us. We were herded around for a week before we were separated from the group and taken to the base where you found us." Ron pulled a knee to his chest, wrapping his arms as tightly as he could around the leg. "Don't ask how long we were there, because I sure as hell don't know. It was where they put the weaker wizards so they can experiment on them."

"You're not weak," Hermione said. "To say that you are—"

"Hermione, we're in the future." Luna frowned at the girl. "You should know that the education system has advanced. In today's standards, Ron only knows what a third-year would."

"Can you guys just… let me finish?" Ron took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Getting to the base was the easiest thing. It's what they did that was hard and I can't…"

"Yes, sorry." Harry patted Ron's knee. "Go on."

Ron shifted closer to Malfoy. The move didn't go unnoticed, but none of them said a word against it. Bonds always formed in the oddest of places and they would not begrudge Ron something that made him feel more comfortable and safe.

"The experiments were to see if they could rid a witch or wizard of their power. I was, apparently, their strongest one so far. I'm sure you noticed since the others were younger than me." Ron glanced to Malfoy. "Except for Malfoy and a few others."

"I couldn't do much magic," Malfoy explained. "I had magic, but it wasn't enough to do much more than random outbursts. My magic kind of bottled itself up until there was too much, and then it would explode."

"And your powers now?" Luna asked, unable to help herself. Ron didn't look like he had wanted to continue this, so she directed the question to Malfoy.

"Mine are completely gone." A small flush crept up Malfoy's cheeks. "It took them about a week to do it, but I'm a Muggle now."

"Ron?" Hermione's voice wavered, but it didn't break.

"Most of it is gone. I'm pretty much a Squib."

The silence stretched out for a long time before Luna stepped forward to rest a hand on Ron's cheek. He looked as if he were about to cry and she hoped that he would hold on. He was stronger than this.

"Was that the only facility?" she asked.

"There were others, but they never said…"

"I saw a map once," Malfoy said, lifting his head. "I can't pinpoint everything, but you can look in my head for it."

Luna motioned Harry toward Malfoy and he didn't waste a moment. He leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. Malfoy winced once, but then looked so serene that it was almost as if he and Harry were simply enjoying leaning on each other. Luna tried not to laugh at Ron's curious look; after all, the last time Ron saw them, they were all at the same skill level.

Harry leaned back and shook his head. "There are four more, possibly five."

"Possibly?"

Harry looked to Neville. "One was labeled differently. Hermione, if I give you the image, can you go track it all down?"

"With pleasure." Hermione didn't hesitate before resting her forehead against Harry's. Luna smiled at the seemly transfer of data; Harry had been so proud when he figured it out and Ron's face was still amusing to watch.

Hermione pulled back and grabbed Neville's arm. "I need help getting the right maps. Come on."

Malfoy let out a low whistle once the door closed. "You guys have some serious power. Did the government get to you first? I heard they accidentally made some more powerful in the early days."

"We've just had a very long time to learn." Luna finally settled on the bed, leaning slightly against Harry. "It's a long story."

Ron shrugged. "I doubt we're going anywhere. We have time."

Harry and Luna shared a quick glance, a conversation between their eyes, and then Harry nodded. Luna knew the map images weren't the only thing he looked for inside Malfoy's mind and, since the boy wasn't dead, he was obviously trustworthy. They each took a breath before diving into what happened over the past two-thousand or so years.

By the end of the story, Ron looked ready to cry again while Malfoy looked a little jealous. Luna patted his knee and shook her head, earning a confused look for her effort.

"I just don't get it," Ron said. "You haven't found Ginny at all?"

"We will someday," Luna promised. "It's just a matter of time."

"And you," Ron pointed to Harry, "have more power than you can handle sometimes? That's why the wards are so damned good?"

"Among other things." Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "I need an outlet for it, so feeding the wards seemed like the best thing."

"Can you feed it to humans?" Malfoy asked. His voice was hopeful, his eyes pleading, and Luna knew that Harry was going to give in. He hadn't changed, not really.

"We haven't tried."

"Try it on me." Malfoy pushed the covers aside to get closer to Harry. "I'm serious, try it on me."

"Me, too." Ron took Luna's offered hand, squeezing it for support. "If what you said is true, I'm not going to die from it. Death kind of ignores us, right?"

"For the moment." Harry rubbed at his legs, biting on his lower lip. "Hmm… I'd need to ask Hermione."

"She isn't your keeper."

"Ron, stop. She researched the hell out of this and I trust her."

Ron frowned. "Has there ever been a wizard like you, Harry?"

Luna smiled, squeezing his hand once. "He has you there, Harry."

"Now you're siding with him?" Harry threw his hands in the hair. "Fine, okay. I'll _try_ , but I'm not promising results." He looked to Malfoy. "And I'm trying it on Ron first since I'm pretty sure he can't, you know, die on me."

"As long as I can have the power back, I don't care who goes first." Malfoy's entire face relaxed into a smile. "Thank you, Harry."

ronronron

They gave up trying to hide their ages when Malfoy's hairline started to recede. At that point, the small town they had built didn't even seem to care, treating them as if they were deities to be worshipped. Over the next six-hundred years, Luna overheard some people pray to one of them and it nearly tore her in half. These people trusted them to keep them safe, but how long would it be before the Muggles found out what was happening in this otherwise inhabited forest?

She had gotten used to it, however, and now didn't blink when a child prayed to Hermione the Wise for better marks, or Earthy Neville for better crops. They tracked Luna down for mystical advice, found Harry for strength, and Ron for hope.

Malfoy's descendents became their personal assistants and none of them could quite figure out how exactly that had happened. By the year 3042, none of the Malfoy family had magic, but all of them passed down the story on how their ancestor had been saved by the Great Five.

Harry hated that name, but it stuck before he could say anything to change it.

They had bigger things to worry about, anyway. Muggles had gotten better at recognizing the signs of a magical child and, under law, that child would be executed. When one of their many Muggle spies informed them of this, Luna had shut herself in the library with Hermione as they tried to figure out how to find the magical children.

It took a while, but their first rescue was a success. Harry was placed a toddler into the arms of a waiting woman. A mother and her new, adopted son.

"I hate taking them from their families," Ron said once the woman walked away with the awed child. "It feels wrong."

"Would you rather they died?" Harry asked, crossing his arms. "Sorry, Ron, but you went through all of their experimental crap. The children are better here."

"Then why aren't we taking all the children and raising them right?" Ron asked in return, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Harry shot him a heated glare and Ron took a step back, fear moving through his eyes for a second. If she hadn't been looking for it, Luna probably wouldn't have noticed. Harry's magic gave Ron magic and, while Harry swore he would never take that away, Ron had always been terrified of what would happen if Harry ever changed his mind. Luna looked to Harry and, despite everything he used to be, Luna knew that he had the potential to abuse that.

He already did so with Hermione, though neither of them noticed. Only Luna. She could See it, every time it happened. As soon as Harry began to trickle his magic onto the others (Luna refused), she could see the change in all of them. She didn't like all of it, but she had her own issues to deal with, and she wanted to be selfish.

Neville's plants grew bigger and stronger. So much stronger that he had to stop the more deadly ones, or at least grow them in a restricted zone nobody but himself could get into. When he wasn't thinking, green grass and flowers would spring up beneath his feet as he walked. Luna always thought it was a bit ridiculous, but Neville just seemed embarrassed. It wasn't brought up often, if ever.

Hermione seemed to remember anything, no matter how odd, as soon as she saw it. Her library had grown as she seemed to simply find books out of nowhere. There were times she spent days in the stacks, forgetting to come out for simple things like food. Despite the greater influx of magic, she had mostly gone without. She had started that in part to make Malfoy feel more at home, but Luna knew that Hermione still didn't trust magic to never run out.

Sometimes, Luna wondered why Magic would try to waste Her time on Hermione Granger. As soon as that thought would cross her mind, she would feel a jolt to her system, a punishment for not seeing something that the magic obviously did.

Ron had to relearn every part of his wand work, since he now channeled Harry's magic. His wand hadn't worked, so he had been forced to learn it wandless. He had appreciated the lessons with that, but even now, after six-hundred years, he had difficulty doing higher spells. Harry's easy way with spells hadn't helped, since his magic seemed more stable now.

Harry's smile now came with a bit more force, and his laughter was rare. Sometimes, Luna caught him staring at the Malfoys running through their home with a glare on his features. He offered no explanation for the look, and it was the one thing Luna failed to See. Something in Harry was blocking her from it. Luna never asked what it was, though she supposed she should have. It was not her Harry, after all.

Hermione walked into the room just after Ron backed away from Harry. If she noticed the tension, she said nothing of it. She simply held up a thick stack of papers.

"These are the names and locations of all magical children under the age of ten. I figured these would be a higher priority." She waved the papers between the two boys. "Well? Which one of you is going to take this?"

"I will." Harry took the papers from her a bit more roughly than he should have. "We'll start with the older ones since they're probably in the most danger."

"That's what I thought. They're listed first." Hermione smiled, coming to stand next to Luna who leaned into her warmth, appreciating it. "Neville already gathered a few groups of men and the list is broken down by region. We can get most of them today."

"The surrogate families?" Ron asked. "Are they set up?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not for the older kids, no. There is a house set up in the center of the town for them, though. We figured a group of children who could understand each other might work better."

Hermione's hand found Luna's and, for a moment, Luna felt light headed. They hadn't been this close in a very long time.

"I don't like the idea of an orphanage," Harry said. "I think we should—"

"Do what's best for the children." Luna squeezed Hermione's hand, trying to relax the sudden tenseness that came to her shoulders. "Harry, we love you, but we can't just put children in homes they don't want. Especially if we're taking them from the only homes they know."

"I would have given anything to live with someone else," he snapped, the papers wrinkling in his fingers.

Ron reached forward to take them, gently, from Harry's hands. "Yes, but you didn't decide that until you knew other people. These kids aren't going to know anybody but their rescuers. Who says they're going to be calm in a new place?"

"So a house by themselves is smart?"

Luna shook her head. "It isn't like that. Trust in Hermione. When has she ever steered us wrong?"

Harry opened his mouth and Luna could feel the defense on his tongue. Before it came out, however, he closed his mouth and took a step away from them. Harry would never admit they were right (not now, at least), and that was as close as they were going to get.

Time, and power, had a stronger effect on Harry Potter stronger than Luna had expected. There wasn't a day that passed when she didn't wish things could change, that she could find out how this all had happened and stop it. She remembered the Department of Mysteries, but something told her that this had started even before that. Perhaps even before there was time or magic or _people_ . And for all that she had learned, for all that she had seen, she would give it all up if only to have her Harry back, free of his anger and aggression.

She hoped that taking care of hundreds of magical children would help that. If anything, Harry was always a kind-hearted man who would sooner cut his own heart out than not help someone in need.

As the weeks rolled by and children began to fill up the empty homes and streets, she did see that change. Ron never left his side and the slight fear that Harry would take his magic away soon faded. Luna suspected that more was going on between them, and she wondered at why they would think they needed to hide it, but she never pushed.

Not even when a new threat came up, when the Muggles started to realize children were missing. Children parents didn't remember. Wizards were blamed and the hunt grew both stronger and weaker. Mothers hid their children, while father's brought them out as if to dare a wizard to take them.

Time seemed to flow freely through her now, but Luna remembered the few times she went out to find a child. The tears from the mother, as if she knew what was going to happen, and the anger from the father too upset about his own problems to realize he was fighting against the very nature of his own child.

Of the five children Luna took, she remembered each and every family she pulled them from. She remembered the street and city, the names of their Muggle siblings. She remembered the mother's tears and the father's anger. The confusion, or fear, of the neighbors and siblings. Then, once the charms were in place, she remembered the way the mother looked around, confused at her tears. She remembered the father stopping mid-argument and staring at her, holding his child, with curiosity.

They always asked who she was. They always cooed over the child she held. After those five times, refused to do it ever again.

If this was the future, Luna wanted no part in it.


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. Hope you liked it!

An asteroid struck the Earth in 5002, refocusing their attentions toward not only each other, but the Muggles as well. They did their best to try and stop it from hitting the ground, only to stop when Luna went ridged and started to set up shields to protect any people she could. The others followed in her wake, Hermione huddled among the less magical so she could keep them calm.

Harry grew quiet in those moments, almost distancing himself from the others as they tried to find survivors and put out fires. Luna hadn't heard his voice for almost a year when he approached her, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and simply said, "I'm sorry." Luna didn't care if he offered the same to the others, as selfish as that was.

Hermione told Luna after, when the forests of South America stopped burning, that she wished she had trained her power as the others had. She had just been too afraid of losing something she got used to using every day. Luna had simply smiled and helped her build up her power, reminding her that Hermione did have it, did use it, but never acknowledged it.

The remaining magical and non-magical alike came together to rebuild their world, forgetting all previous quarrels. Since the town the five of them had built remained intact, the survivors all came to them. The asteroid destroyed many, and all highly dependent on surviving with the technology previous generations had gifted them; they needed to learn how to survive on their own again.

Using almost forgotten memories, Hermione set out to show them how to build temporary tents and cook food over fire. Even the witches and wizards that survived the Reformation of 3042, the ones who had lived away from the town had to relearn simple tasks; someone had discovered a way to use magic and technology together nearly four-hundred years before the asteroid. Only those still living in the Great Five's town knew how to survive without plugging into a wall.

They didn't bother trying to separate magical from non-magical. It didn't quite matter anymore. Neville expanded his gardens to include fruits and vegetables, though he feared daily that the source would run out faster than he could grow. It was by luck that a Naturalist had survived and helped him teach the Muggles how to live on plants.

Harry and Ron took the men out to search for any living creatures for meat. Few survived, so they never killed any more than they had to. Ron found a few chickens and settled himself in one of the fields to breed them; they could at least provide eggs while any newborn chicks were growing.

That had been nearly four-hundred and seventy years before.

Once the Muggles and wizards alike had caught on to surviving, the group of friends had backed away to watch from a relatively close distance. They choose to stay in the building that housed Hermione's library, now the only place with undamaged books. Hermione searched for a few years and brought back any that seemed salvageable, but not much had been added to her already impressive collection.

More and more wizards and witches were born every day, more than in the years before. Seeing no need to fight each other, the two groups of people had come together with several unions; only about five families out of hundreds had no wizarding blood in them. The Malfoys were, still, one of them. Ron always found it ironic, though his observation always came with a sad smile.

However, even Hermione considered this a good sign. She insisted to them that it meant the new human race would be stronger and more united than ever. After all, any surviving magical creatures had been wiped out with the rest of humanity and there was no race to fight with. Luna simply smiled and watched as the world continued to spin, life growing despite the disadvantages around it. There would be war eventually, but not now.

Perhaps she wouldn't be conscious enough to see it this time.

Harry's magic kept her on this Earth, she knew. If he hadn't caught her and all but chained her core to his, she was sure that she would be nothing more than a shade, sliding around and simply observing. Sometimes she hated that he had caught her.

She needed to be there for them, though, and she knew that. Ron began to fret as soon as they didn't find Ginny after the asteroid. He had insisted she was killed and not even Harry reminding him that Death ignored them could calm his worry and rage. During those times, Harry would lessen their connection and they would all see Ron's shoulders slump in defeat. It wasn't a threat of sorts, but Ron knew the warning that came with the action. That had only been the third time Harry used it (the first being an accident).

They were visiting the remains of Hogwarts when Luna felt a prickle of anticipation run through her system. She looked toward the dead forest and smiled. She didn't need to say a word before Ron and Neville ran forward, ignoring the small scrapes the decayed branches gave them.

Luna followed more slowly, Harry and Hermione by her side. She knew Hermione couldn't feel the pull, but the tension in Harry's shoulders told her that _he_ could. Laughing, Luna took Hermione's hand and sent Harry along with a wave of her hand. He kissed her cheek before running after Ron, calling out a name.

 _Her_ name.

"Ginny!"

After nearly five-thousand years, they were all together again.

Finally.


End file.
